My Little Ventrue Pt. 09 Ch. 14

Antoinette ground her teeth as she glared at the woman. "I came to parlay."

"I don't believe that for a second." With a sniffle, Clara wiped her nose with her wrist, her eyes with her fingers, and took another step back. "And don't think I'll go down without a--"

"Clara Moreno, cease your incessant prattling! I am not here to kill you." Though with the way Clara insisted the conversation go, she was making it increasingly easy to return to that plan. "I am here to talk... about whatever happened tonight."

"Yeah, go fuck yourself. I--" She spun around, hand out, and the back of her hand collided with air.

Elaine stepped back from the backhand, wearing a toying grin as her Cloak faded, and idly rubbing her cheek where Clara had hit her. "Impressive."

"Two elders for one wolf? You two really that scared?"

"Of course not." Sighing louder, full dramatic effect intended, Antoinette waved Elaine off, and her old friend stepped around Clara to join her again. "Forgive the Ventrue her... mischievous ways. I wish to speak to you Clara, about Jack."

"I didn't fuck him, calm down."

"I gathered."

"Ha, how? Cause I'm crying?"

"By the time frame. Half an hour? Please." A small attempt at a joke, to lighten the mood. She had indeed thought, for a furious moment, that perhaps Clara had seduced her little Jack. That idea had shattered upon seeing the woman's tears, and now Antoinette did her best to recover the situation. It earned a surprised, raised brow from the woman, and Antoinette could not help but mirror Elaine's domineering grin. But she suppressed it quick enough, and took another step toward Clara. "If I wanted to kill you, Clara, I could have arranged it, easily. No need to dirty my hands."

"Unless you wanted to bloody them. You come across as a cold bitch, but I've seen more than a few vamps just like you. When shit gets personal, you freak the fuck out and get vicious."

Antoinette glared at the woman, and a small part of her hoped the stupid creature would shatter into a hundred shards of frozen blood and gore, there on the street.

"I admit that, perhaps, I originally wanted a rather terse word."

"Terse? Gimme a break."

"I swear you will not be harmed, Clara. But I do wish to speak." She almost worded it as an order, but she knew Clara, like any of the Uratha in Avery's pack, would respond to even the most logical order with resistance. Better to ask, and save herself the headache. "Please."

Clara eyed her suspiciously, but after another sniffle, shrugged and nodded. "Fuck it, fine. The fuck do I have to lose."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Bloodlust? Really?" No doubt the woman felt self conscious about her clothes.

"It is a secure location. We may speak privately." Antoinette nodded to the bouncer at the door, and walked toward the side staircase. Kine ceased chatting to stare at the tall white-haired woman in the business suit, before their eyes fell to the tall blonde in a similar suit, and then eventually to the tan-skinned woman with box-braid hair, wearing a t-shirt and jeans. The kine knew better than to interfere.

Soon, Antoinette sat upstairs in her usual booth, far in the back. Elaine did not join them however, nodding before departing to find another booth. On the hunt, no doubt.

Clara eventually sat down across from Antoinette in the large, circular booth, eyes locked on Antoinette. Her tears had stopped, though Antoinette could see she was holding them back to save face. Such a child.

"I assume Jack has told you about the situation with Black Blood, and my order about Samantha."

"You're lucky he did. I was thinking about dropping by and giving Samantha a check-in, see if she'd put some distance between her and that asshole Jacob. At least I was until Jack said you told him to not tell her about the situation."

"You disagree."

"Course I fucking disagree. She's your childe, isn't she? The fuck--"

Antoinette held up a hand. "I did not invite you here to speak of Samantha. Know that if you warn her, I will consider that an act against me. And not a personal attack, but an official one, orchestrated by your pack." She leaned in and glared daggers into the wolf. "Respect that you are guests in my city. Do not make me remove you."

For all Clara's bravado, for all her strength and rank as second-in-command of her pack, Clara was a gnat compared to Antoinette's power. The wolf tried to hold Antoinette's gaze, but failed, and looked down and away after several seconds.

"No idea what Jack sees in a bitch like you."

Well, if the woman had no issue making this as personal as possible, Antoinette would stoop to her level.

"No doubt you assume the only thing he sees in a vampire comme moi, is the size of my breasts."

Clara snorted as she finally regained her confidence, enough to glare at Antoinette at least. "I think you've got the whole ancient seductress thing down pat, yeah. I think you've got Jack all twisted up inside, so he can't think straight when he's around you."

Not entirely an unwarranted opinion. Antoinette had indeed gone out of her way to become a seductress, physically and intellectually, even resorting to strange, forgotten measures to ensure her unusual body. To an outside eye like Clara, Antoinette's actions must have seemed terribly shallow. But Clara was a young fool who did not understand her own heart, her own desires, or the reality in pursuing them. Antoinette took no more offense in her ignorant views about the Prince's body than she would if a four-year-old child had insulted her shoes.

"We discussed my relationship with Jack once before. You thought I was selfish, that I was putting my desires before what was healthy for him."

"I still think that."

"Even after what Jack has told you, about my order about his mother?"

A hole in Clara's opinion, that Antoinette would risk Jack's anger instead of tricking him. Naturally, the werewolf sneered and looked away again as she realized it.

"You probably think he'll come back to you like a dog on a leash, coming back to its master no matter how many times the master beats it."

It took more effort than Antoinette wanted to admit, to not reach across the table and tear the damn woman's eyes out.

"He will come back to me, because we love each other, Clara. And while he and I are quite different, and it is through those differences that we have found synergy."

"You know all that shit about two opposites attract is just that, shit, right?"

Antoinette found herself smiling. "Oh?"

"You think Uratha can't read about things? Fuck you. Yeah, I read stuff sometimes, and what do you know, turns out that shit about opposites attract is just romanticizing. You need to have common ground, or it's a doomed relationship." Well well, the woman was smarter than she seemed.

"And you think Jack and I have no common ground? That we are opposites? Surely he has told you otherwise."

She turned to her other side, now facing out toward the club and the other booths closer to the stairs and railing. "So he says. I can't see how a young guy can really have common ground with an ancient bitch."

"Then you do not understand Jack at all."

That earned a surprised glance from Clara, before she leaned back, folded her arms across her chest, and glared at Antoinette. "Enlighten me, then."

"That is why we are here... partly."

"Partly?"

"Later. For now, let us speak of Jack then. You think Jack is a young man, a silly boy thrust into circumstances that have hardened him, and sculpted a man. Oui?"

"I guess, yeah. Dude was what, twenty, when he was embraced? That wasn't even four years ago. He's grown up into a pretty awesome guy."

"Clara, I was attracted to Jack long before any of the events that molded him befell him. If anything, I have worked to undo the effects those traumatizing moments have had on him."

"Uh huh."

"I do not lie. The first time I met Jack, I thought him nothing more than an unusual choice for Julias Mire, nothing like him at all. I met the boy later at Bloodlust, in this very booth, and he displayed unusual courage, and unusual wisdom." Clara did not need to know the details of that conversation. Jack, a young man with utterly no world experience, had remarked that Antoinette was lonely, even as the boy trembled beside her in fear. "I was attracted to him when he was... unknown, when he was simply a young man with a mind that did not fit such a simple description." Antoinette leaned over the table toward the wolf woman. "Jack is an old soul, Clara."

"Old soul? And if I don't believe in reincarnation?"

"Metaphor. Jack is not a young man, or rather, not young in many regards. Surely you have noticed that."

"I have. Kid's definitely got an inner grumpy asshole."

"Quaint. Oui, there are aspects to Jack that allow him and I to communicate in meaningful, deep ways. I am sorry if that offends you"--though they both knew very well that she was not--"but in truth, Jack is not the sort of man you could spend the rest of your life with, Clara."

"Says you."

"That I do. Could you truly imagine discussing the minutiae of music or the acting techniques of the older versus younger generation? Could you spend hours discussing how dialog was written in older movies, versus the movies of now? Or how terribly modern movies insist on balancing audio?"

"I--"

"Can you imagine spending three hours comparing the writing techniques of authors? Or perhaps indulging Jack one of his hour-long rants where he does nothing but insult social media?"

"I--"

"Do you have any topics that could engage his mind? I have spent hours explaining to my love the intricacies of Mozart and the tragedy of Beethoven. I have detailed the rise and fall of communism in Stalin's Russia. I have regaled him with talk of economics, the complexities of law, and techniques to manipulate stock and taxes. I have discussed the emergence of languages over the course of history, the discovery of spices by different cultures, and the psychology of genders, all to his utmost interest."

"So you're both nerds, so what?"

Antoinette leaned in closer, and forced Clara to hold her steady gaze. "Jack does not dance. Jack despises social gatherings, and only engages at my request. Jack did not indulge in alcohol in his first life, or drugs of any kind, and not because of any sort of fear, but because the idea of not being in total control of his mind at all times did not sit well with him. Jack's perfect night includes solitude, perhaps an intriguing film, and hours of discussion.

"You," she pointed at Clara, "are a social creature, non? Your best nights undoubtedly included enjoying the company of your pack, perhaps joyful nights on the town, full of alcohol. Your most joyous days -- something Jack will never see -- were probably when you and your group hunted in the woods, or perhaps when engaging in a rough brawl with dissidents? Your most treasured memories likely include the sheer joy of sharing an experience with a group of others, likely often your pack, but also perhaps your family from your first life? I can easily picture you sharing in elation with fellow students when you were young, cheering over a sports team or some such. Perhaps even now. While Jack does not know the name of most sports teams, and not the name of a single player of any of them."

Again, Antoinette leaned in closer, continuing to hold the frozen Clara's gaze. "Be under no illusions, Clara. You and Jack would greatly enjoy each other's company, for a time, but I have seen better matches than you two, who saw perhaps two months of shared bliss. The two of you would be nothing more than a temporary relationship shared between the young, full of short lived passion. But Jack and I will survive ages together. And while our differences are great, we connect in ways you do not appreciate, in the ways a husband and wife do. Our connection is not only sexual and emotional, as yours would be, but also intellectual, the ability for us to speak about what interests us, and to spark the genuine interest of the other.

"You would not connect with Jack in such a way Clara. Your relationship would be doomed before it began."

Clara broke their gaze first, leaning back and looking down. And despite her attempts to hide it, the werewolf sniffled. If not for the music of Bloodlust, other booths would have heard her.

"You really are a bitch, you know that?" Clara forced down a sniffle, but it did not last, and she sniffled again as she struggled to control her tears. Those too fell, and she wiped them away quickly.

With a heavy sigh, Antoinette slid along the booth, closing the distance between the two until a single foot separated them.

"Clara, I... apologize, for how I managed this. I admit learning of your time with Jack tonight left me... infuriated."

"Yeah well, you were right. Jack doesn't want me. Even when he's pissed at you, still doesn't want me."

"Do not be absurd. Of course he desires you, Clara."

"What?"

"If Jack were not with me, he would happily succumb to your flirtations. You are an amazing woman, Clara, strong and beautiful. Not the most intelligent woman--"

"Hey!"

"But intelligent enough. Do not think you are unworthy. But do not be so childish as to not understand the difference between true romance, and a passionate desire." Slowly, Antoinette offered the woman a gentle smile. An olive branch. "I am happy that you are so concerned for Jack, to the point you are willing to anger me. But I do suggest you be careful with Jack from now on, and do not tempt him further. Not because of him, but because of me."

"That a threat?"

"It is." She said it with no malice. The tears in Clara's eyes robbed Antoinette of what anger she looked for. They would not have, in years past. "But you and I need not be enemies, Clara. Leave Jack be, and--"

"You don't even know what Jack is gonna do, after this shit you're pulling."

"And the idea of losing Jack because of this development with Black Blood haunts me to my very soul, Clara, in ways you do not understand. You, who bursts at the seams with emotions. You who will never know centuries of..." Antoinette leaned back, pulled her hair over her shoulder onto her chest, and combed it with one hand as she looked out to the other booths. "I will do what I can to ensure our relationship survives. I know Jack will as well." Now that the fury in her veins had calmed, it grew easier to see that, and to trust her love. Their relationship would survive this. It would.

"You got a lot of faith in him to still want you after this."

"I do."

Clara sniffled again before taking a deep breath and silencing her sobs. "Christ, I don't even know why I'm crying."

"Emotions are not always logical. And while it has been ages since I have shed tears, I am sure I shed plenty when I was your age." She shrugged as she continued to offer her peace smile to the werewolf. "And if those feelings are of guilt, due to your budding relationship with the hunter Harcourt, do not be so hard on yourself. Your relationship with him is young, while your interest in Jack far older, and deserving of investigation."

"Fuck, does everyone know I'm dating Brace?"

"Of course."

"Ugh."

"And, if I may be so bold, your future with Harcourt holds more potential than with Jack. While the hunter and my love share little in common, they do share some similarities in personality, similarities you undoubtedly find appealing." His emotional forwardness, his deep rooted desire to do right, his adorable awkwardness.

"Yeah well, that may be true, but Harcourt doesn't seem interested."

"Oh? If you are willing to tell me, by all means."

Clara wiped her nose, gulped down her tears, and sat up straighter. "Fine. I guess if anyone knows a thing or two about romance, it's an ancient Daeva."

Antoinette knew far more than most, about typical romantic interactions, true. Countless interactions from her youth that, while faded, had sharpened her social instincts into a scalpel. Countless books read. Countless young kine and Kindred seen, monitored, and documented. Her own romantic woes were strange, absurd things, and not easily understood, but Clara's would be far simpler and easier.

Sure enough, as Clara explained the situation, the solution was clear. Brace Harcourt was a passive man, and a moron. Two hundred years ago, a woman would drop her handkerchief near a man she was interested in, and the man would return it, creating the avenue for conversation. If the man had the wherewithal to recognize what the gesture meant, he would pursue the woman with romantic interest. Signal sent, received, and the chase began.

In the modern age, the tools of the game had changed, as had the overall game itself. But in some ways, nothing ever truly changes, and the desires of those involved in the game of romance remained the same. Women enjoyed being chased, desired, even fought over. There was hardly any shame in that, but the modern world had most definitely altered the ways such a game was played. Women had to adapt.

"I will speak to the man."

"What? Oh god, please don't. I--"

"Clara, trust me to know how to be graceful, and discrete. The man will not even know what I am doing."

"This is really fucking weird."

"Perhaps, but as I said, I do not want us to be enemies."

"We're... we're not enemies, ok? Enemies are the fuckers I had to deal with in Tijuana. Enemies are the assholes that made Art's life a living hell until we got him outa there. You and I aren't enemies."

Antoinette gestured out toward the booths nearby. Heads were visible over their backs, making it a simple task to see who was engaged in romance with others.

"You act as if romance is hardly a reason for enemies, young werewolf. I have seen houses destroyed over romance. I have seen atrocities you cannot imagine, over romance."

Clara snorted on a chuckle, the sound mixed with her suppressed sobs. "Sounds like a soap opera."

"Indeed. I have known kine to kill each other over romance, as I am sure you know. I have known kine to go to war for the love of another. Battles that flooded the streets have been fought over romance. Learn your history, and you will find romance has been at the heart of many wars."

"Yeah well, I'm not that sort of person."

Antoinette glared down at the werewolf, and Clara stopped sniffling. "Few who find themselves slaughtering others in a fit of passion and rage think themselves capable of it, Clara Moreno."

Clara stared up at her as realization set in. "You... you've killed people, over romance?"

"No. At least... not in the way you think. My relationship with Tony was troubled, and..." She shook her head as she looked down. "My point stands. Your interest in Jack terrifies me, Clara. It terrifies me because Jack has helped me in a way I thought impossible. He has helped me find a joy I could not imagine ever finding again. And it also terrifies me, because I do not like what I imagine I might do, if I ever found myself reliving the tales I described, tales of romance and murder."

They two looked at each other for a while. Antoinette was being dreadfully honest with someone she did not fully trust, and that was a risk. But if she was to encourage cooperation and understanding in her city, than she had to act as such.

"I believe we are done here," Antoinette said, and she slid out of the booth.

Clara nodded, joining her. "Just so you know, I'm glad you didn't kill me."

"Naturally."

"I mean it. I... fuck, I don't know. This is the last thing I expected."

"Then I hope this experience has opened your eyes, young werewolf. Not all elder Kindred are heartless monoliths." With a grin Antoinette walked toward the stairs, and Clara joined her.

"I guess. There's still a bunch of elders in Dolareido I don't trust at all."