My Little Ventrue Pt. 05 Ch. 04

After a few more minor points to clear up, she dismissed them, and everyone got up. Jacob first, offering a small wave over his shoulder, then Garry, grunting and putting his hands in his jean pockets, and then the council triumvirate.

"Mister Mire, Mister Terry, stay a moment, s'il vous plaît? For a personal matter."

Personal matter, hmm. He could understand her keeping the kid around, but him? They had no business outside of Jack, so he thought. But, he nodded, and stayed seated as the others left. They offered Jack grins, smirks, even a nod or two. Hell, Garry chuckled and pat the kid on the shoulder; which put Jack on edge like nothing else, to the point Julias had to hide his smirk.

But, eventually, the three of them were alone.

"Jack," Antoinette said, small smile, small grin. Subtle, like she was comfortable with the gentle expressions. It was cute. "I hope my words did not stir your malcontent. Please understand that I would not remove, or kill, your friend Fiona unless she stood with Azamel in such a circumstance."

"That makes me happier, yeah." He scratched his head, and came in a little closer until his hips touched the other end of the table, him looking across it to his lover. "I'm trying to keep everyone happy, getting along with each other, and talks of purge... yeah. Scary."

"And such a circumstance would be unusual. Even when Azamel was a larger thorn in my side, I did not call for such an act. And when the Uratha caused chaos in the corners of my city with their trespassing and uncontrolled hunts, I did not call for such an act. Only on Lucas, who had every intent to... well, I am sure you can remember the man's zealotry."

"Yeah, no forgetting that."

"And... I will see you tonight, non?" she said.

Julias couldn't help but let out a little grin with that. Big, bad, dangerous, intelligent and confident Antoinette, worried about Jack not being there. It was delightful to see. God damn it made him miss Triss. He hadn't seen her in a couple nights, and fuck, he really wanted to see her, hold her, forget all the troubles in the city for an hour or two before their daily sleep took them.

And Jennifer could watch. He didn't mind that Jen seemed infatuated with watching Julias and Triss be romantic with each other, and Triss seemed to actively enjoy it, if anything.

"Yes, of course, my Prince." Jack offered a small bow, and the same sort of subtle smile. Smooth.

She nodded, and a small finger wave sent the boy on his way. He returned it, before he stood up straight as Julias caught his eye. Yeah, your sire is still here, kid. But Julias shrugged, and smirked at Jack as the boy disappeared behind the door.

"Now, Mire." She turned in her chair to face him, leaned back, and set both her hands around the knee atop the other. "I had been meaning to speak with you of personal matters. There has been little time as of late to catch up, and I thought, perhaps you could share fifteen minutes with me?"

"Of course, yes Prince." Strange. The first time this happened, she'd just showed up at his new mansion randomly, expecting the conversation. Now she was asking.

"I... had hoped to grow my relationship with your childe. But I am worried."

"Worried?"

"Oui. There are a host of reasons that I should keep my relationship with the young man the same as it is now, permanently in its waves of honeymoon bliss. When such dreamy thoughts fill our nights, it is easy for the boy and I to rest in each other's arms. But, when realities seep into the air, and crawl under the door, I grow... afraid. I worry for the past, of how my relationship with my own childe went. I worry for the future, and how the strife my city suffers will extend to our relationship, if such topics entered our dialogues."

"I see." The woman did love to consider the future. It was why she was a good Prince; that, and the strength to back it up. Where was Daniel anyway? "Jack has never been in a serious relationship, and his relationships before were not relationships at all. You're treading new ground in his life."

"... do you have any suggestions, Mire? I feel like a fool, worrying about this. Natasha herself has suggested that I am fighting inevitability, keeping my relationship with the boy focused solely on ourselves and each other, and not letting the affairs of the city or the harsh realities it brings taint our personal time. But... but I held that boy in my arms, and watched him struggle to not break into tears, as he recounted the details of his torture."

Julias winced, groaned, and looked down. Yeah, that must have been painful for her. Hell, kid hadn't filled him in on every single detail, just the basics, and it was painful to hear, let alone see the kid struggle with the misery in his eyes. But at least Antoinette didn't see the physical aftermath like Julias had.

"... I don't know why you sired Tony, honestly, Prince. I heard he was a great artist when he was younger?"

"Oui, a great artist, passionate for so many things." Like washing away a layer of dirt, she wiped her knee at the mention of the man's name. "Why do you ask?"

"Jack is not that. Jack is... well, Tony was juvenile. No offense."

"Mire, I am glad my childe is dead. It had to be done. You need not mince words over his image."

"... alright. Well, Jack is not Tony. Tony may have been a delinquent, but Jack is a surly old man in a young man's body."

That got a chuckle out of her. "Oh? How so?"

"Harsh and analytical, and very much with a 'I ain't got time for this shit' attitude, when the man isn't old enough to even know what it sounds like when a music generation changes."

More chuckles, from the two of them.

"That does capture the harder side of the boy's personality, I admit."

"I knew Jack pretty well when I decided I wanted to sire him, Prince. I knew he'd be determined, intelligent, methodical, and I knew his small size was no indication of his tenacity. The kid... can be ruthless, when he needs to be. And honestly, I think you sense that, and you want to keep him from becoming a key figure in the world waiting for him."

She raised a brow. "And what world would that be?"

"Our world. Viktor's world. Violent, and filled with responsibilities that wear on the mind. And... the bitterness that comes with it, maybe the paranoia, maybe the jadedness."

"... yes, I would prefer to keep Jack from suffering such a fate. Or at the very least, I wish to be a soft place he may rest from such tribulations."

"I sired him for a reason, and as much as it looks like Jack's getting pulled in that direction, yanked into the Danse Macabre well before others of similar age, he's the one Kindred I trust to not let it turn him into a jaded, empty husk." Christ, he hoped he was right about that. "I think you do him a disservice, by babying him." Bad word choice?

Her eyes narrowed, and squinted at him. Ok, bad word choice.

"Do you think it is wise to continue burying the boy in responsibilities and trials, Mire? I find myself trying to pamper him, because every time I speak with him, he is buried in new pain. You promoted him to being a right hand of your Invictus council, which I agree is warranted, but not in the boy's best interest. His reward for surviving, where most would perish, is to risk his life yet again."

"... and you keep calling him boy."

She opened her mouth to retort, but closed it with a hiss, sucking in her breath through her teeth as she glared at him. "He is too young to have such trials thrust upon him so quickly, Mire."

"I disagree. I think, as painful as this is for me, as much as I don't want to see him suffer, Jack will manage, and not only will he become a powerful Kindred for it, the city will benefit. Your city." This conversation was turning sour, and he ran his fingers through his hair, back over his head, as he leaned in toward the Prince. How to fix this. "I understand you love him, but I sired him for a reason. I saw the grit in his eye when he was just a teenager, Prince, just a kid who looked around him and wondered why everyone else had so much trouble managing their vices or futures, when for him, it was as easy as flipping a switch in his head. I could put that kid into that chair again, with Jeremiah and Angela, and I know he'd do the exact same thing to get out, because he knows how to... flip that switch, how to grab the cold hard truth of situations by the horns and get shit done."

The Prince's expression broke. The steel melted, her features softened, and her red gaze fell to her knees. "Yes, I am sure he would."

"Don't get me wrong, Prince. I'm doing everything I can to make sure shit like this doesn't happen, but I'm making the right choice for him, the Invictus, and the city, by putting him in this position. Maria and Michael agree with me." Fuck last names, they were well past last names. "Maybe he's growing up too quickly. Maybe... maybe it's good that you're letting him be young. But, Jack thrives on adult conversation too. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how useful his insights can be, and how much he enjoys giving them, if you talk to him about more mature things. He's not Tony, he's not going to get bitter or resentful if you call him out on something, point out a flaw in his reasoning or ignorance in his knowledge. Hell, knowing Jack, he'd thank you for proving him wrong; a trait I wish more people had."

Her smile returned. Thank god. Making the Prince frown for too long was never a good idea. He trusted her to not let her emotions lead to biased decisions, but nobody's perfect.

"Then, I guess I am the fool, for handling my love with silk gloves." She leaned back in her chair once more, warmth on her face as she hooked her hands around her knee again. "I want to help him, Julias. I want to ease his burdens."

"He probably feels the same way about you."

"... I should treat him with more respect then, and involve him in my life. I admit the notion of laying my burdens upon him, in hopes of being soothed by him, had never occurred to me. Always the boy... the young man, is someone I have wanted to protect, even from my woes."

"I definitely think you should involve him more, treat him as older than he is, because, mentally, he is."

"May I ask something a bit more personal then?"

"By all means." He leaned back as well, arm settling on the table beside him. Far better atmosphere, far more relaxed.

"What sort of things does the boy like?"

"You don't know?"

"I know many things about my little Ventrue, but I know there are many things he does not share, in fear that I would find it juvenile. For example, he plays video games, but does not discuss them with me. Understandable, as I know little about them, but that does not mean I am not willing to find some sort of bridge for us to connect upon."

"Ha, I strongly suggest you don't get into video games. Definitely a product for a different generation... that said, Jack has a taste for art that dances on the macabre."

"I was aware he enjoyed some... perhaps morose pieces, that I expect you graced upon him."

He laughed. Yeah, some of his art tastes had rubbed off on Jack. "Before I came along, he was enjoying macabre art too, just with a more fantasy flare."

"... did he now?"

"Mmhmm. Skulls piled into mountains, black knights and evil sorceresses, things like that."

Something caught her eye, stirred around in her mind until a tiny grin sneaked onto her lips. She tapped the corner of her mouth with a finger as her eyes wandered, arranging thoughts into something he couldn't imagine.

"Thank you, Julias. I appreciate your help."

"My pleasure." He got up from his chair, but the Prince raised a hand, and he stayed there, standing with a brow slightly raised.

"I had meant to ask about your relationship with Jennifer."

"Oh. That." He chuckled and scratched the back of his head, not unlike Jack would. "That is... an unusual development."

"May I ask for a detail or two? It is of interest to me, considering you are now sleeping with all female witches in the city."

"I... I guess I am, heh. Jen had a thing for Triss, and she sort of wormed her way into our bed with time. There's no romance between us and her, but she seems to prefer it that way, to be our friend... with benefits." So cliche, so very cliche. And yet very accurate.

"I am delighted. When Jennifer's sire left the city, I was saddened. A Ventrue with as open a mind as his is rare, and Miss Denver takes after him; a pity she was not sired Daeva. You are lucky to have her in your midsts."

"... you might just be right about that." What did Antoinette know about Jennifer? Far as Julias knew, Jen was just a young Ventrue who drifted into Jacob's employ, no one special, no one the Prince would keep tabs on. But, considering Jen's attitude, confidence, and the way she handled herself at the ball, half naked for all to see, maybe he should reconsider his impression of her.

"... Julias, keep an eye on Maria, would you? I am sure you already are, but I have... new reasons, to suspect the woman may be getting into affairs she should perhaps not touch."

"I'm not sure I understand." Wait, what?

"Then that is probably for the best. But, please, watch her carefully? This is not about Jack, I do not think, but... something... something to keep an eye on."

"... will do."

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~~Jack~~

The Primogen meeting was last night, and he wasn't sure he liked where things were going. But tonight, he wasn't going to worry about that. He was going to take the night to himself, and share it with Antoinette, who was also taking a night to herself, mostly. She had a few things to do before, but still, her dedicating most of her night to him was nice, and he wasn't going to waste it.

Upon entering the Elysium tower, the receptionist had a message for him. Go down to F and go to room 4. A surprise was waiting for him.

Surprise? What sort of surprise did Antoinette have? She surprised him all the time, but she didn't announce them. Hence, surprise, usually. Now he knew about it, so he was surprised about the surprise, and now, a little excited about it too. Just a kid on Christmas morning.

It was nice, getting excited about silly stuff again. He missed that.

He took the stairs down to floor F, and turned for room 4. He flicked on the light switch, and started down the hallway. He'd never been down this hallway, like many others; a damn labyrinth down here, and a massive one too. Centuries building in a specific location, how many thralls did she have down here at any given time, expanding her network? Hell, how deep could you dig into the ground before you ran into lava or something? Before you hit some sort of gas pocket and erupted the whole building?

He laughed, smacked himself in the forehead, and continued on down the hallway of black marble, covered in cracks of white lines, like thousands of bolts of lightning. Once upon a time, they were intimidating. Now, they were a second home. He ran his fingers along the smooth surface of the wall, occasional glances upward to smirk at the LED lights curved into holes in the ceiling.

Now that he thought about it, he must have been dating a billionaire, or someone near it. Little him, dating a billionaire, wisped away from his boring life to a new life of money money money, and sex. Ha. Not nearly so simple or shallow, but, the comparison could still be made. Except of course his billionaire delight was an ancient vampire. Even better.

Eventually the hallway did a sharp turn, and once he made it, he stopped. It opened up to a grand door, one of metal, and locks, bolts of shining steel. It was the door he was supposed to open, but it didn't look like it wanted to be opened. He went up to it, and looked around. Double door, and the gleaming metal looked strange against the black marble. Well, not that strange he supposed, as Antoinette's master bedroom was protected by a literal vault door.

He pulled upon the small latch, and opened the door. Not locked, then.

Darkness awaited him, with flickering touches of blue. LED colors? Maybe, but once he was inside the next hallway, and closed the door behind him, he could see the ebb and flow and light fighting against darkness along the walls. Not LED, but fire, blue fire. He gulped, and started down the hallway straight out of a fantasy novel.

It was again the black marble walls, but mostly covered in hanging waves of blue silk. A rich, royal blue, and it caught the waves of ghostly blue light, as every ten feet, two braziers of blue fire sat between the hanging silk waves. And if it was only that, he'd have thought it quite artful, if a bit dangerous. But it wasn't only silk and fire, as each brazier was a statue, metal forged and molded into a shape over each flame.

A black skull, with vampire teeth.

He gulped as he looked down the hallway before him, long, the ends hidden by hanging silk and beads and... bone? No, it couldn't have been bone, but he couldn't see it from here. He walked toward the barrier at the end of the hall, the dangling silk and chains, and peeked at each fire he passed. The skulls were large, black metal, and they captured the flame as it rose up into them from underneath. Their eyes flicked with the blue fire, small crests of the living death creeping up through the holes. Almost like someone was burning souls to keep the fires lit.

Upon reaching the barrier, he took a second to examine. Hanging silk, blue, like on the walls, many layers of it, and what must have been two dozen hanging chains dangling to the floor, made of links of black metal like the brazier. The links looked like bones, black bones. He touched them, and sighed relief as his fingers recognized the metal texture; not that he would have minded too much if Antoinette was decorating with bones, now that he thought about it. Triss used to hang out inside a catacomb, which was kind of badass, and he imagined the Circle had bones and shit everywhere.

But, maybe he was feeling a little afraid, because he was walking into a dark hallway with blue fire and black skulls, with no idea of what was ahead of him. And maybe seeing legit bones would have been slightly more unnerving, given the circumstances.

A small note, a slip of paper, hung along the silk. A black wax seal kept it folded, and what looked like a claw of some sort jutting from one of the chains skewered its corner. He gulped again, plucked the note from the hook, and broke the seal.

'Disrobe before entering.'

He shivered, and tossed the note into one of the braziers. Gone in a poof of red, before everything was blue once again. Why was he nervous? He'd had sex with Antoinette hundreds of times already, and he knew what she liked decently well, by this point. Every time he got in bed with her, it was like riding a tiger, or better yet, a dragon, a deadly creature that had taken an interest in him. There was always a thrill in that, and it sent a tingle down his spine as he thought about the first time he'd had sex with her. Every time he touched her that night, he felt like he was trying to steal a dragon's treasure, and one wrong move would turn him into food.

And he still felt like that, each time the deadly woman took him between her legs. On nights like tonight, maybe he felt like that a little more. They loved each other, and she'd never hurt him, but still, when things like this happened, hallways full of skulls of blue fire, and hanging chains with little black bones and claws on them? It made him nervous. Who the fuck wouldn't it make nervous?

And stripping down until he was naked, before pushing through the silk and chain barrier, made him a hundred times more nervous. It was a few feet of the material, and it became total darkness that he had to feel his way through, pushing aside the dozens of hanging waves, and the dozens of chains that nudged against his naked body.