Reiji was taken by surprise when his sister's arm made it's way around his waist. There were not a lot of hugs in this family, and Reiji was the least often recipient of such affections. His crimson orbs constricted due to the shock he felt. He immediately opened his mouth to inquire as to why he was receiving such affection, for doing absolutely nothing to earn it. To anyone who could see his current facial expression, Reiji appeared no more intimidating than a lonely child. His facial expression was at ease, and his eyes completely expressed his confusion. There were no hidden agendas, only a deep love for his little sister. Although looks were never a good evaluation, were they? He was a dangerous man in the end, and this one moment would not change that.
“Promise you’ll forgive me?”
He removed himself from his sister's reach, a red flag raising in his mind. He definitely had to get to the bottom of this. Why was she asking for forgiveness? What had she done? He was completely baffled and it was beginning to be less than endearing. He was growing rather irritated, because everyone was acting a bit strange.
“Jane must still be getting the carriages ready, so Anise, do you mind helping me dress, and I’ll give you something warmer to wear? I’m not sure if I have any shawls, but I know there is a heavy hooded cloak in there. It’s a deep purple and I think it would look lovely on you.”
Though before he could say anything, Mirabelle began speaking to Anise and drug the annoying girl away from him. His sister fled with the assumptious little wench in tow, and Reiji had a rather prominent frown on his face. This day was already starting to be more trouble than it was worth. What on earth..? I swear I'm not in the mood for these antics.. I've had no sleep.. Reiji thought to himself in a very harsh tone. He couldn't stay mad at Mirabelle, but he was definitely irritated with her cryptic method of asking for forgiveness.
"Is there some stupid made- up holiday dedicated to being annoying that I'm not aware of? Almost everyone seems to be doing a damn good job of pissing me off the past twenty four hours..."
Reiji quirked an eyebrow and smirked. He wished there were such a holiday, then he'd be exempt of all the irritation that was being thrown his way, and it would all be hurdled at the red haired hothead. Reiji was fine with that, to be honest he didn't care what Bishop endured. He wished to break the man to his will, seeing as he was the main threat to his current existence. Castiel was unfit to rule as he was.. Demetri did not want such a task, Bishop would take it simply to be able to do as he pleased. Though Reiji's attention returned to Anise, whom returned with his sister in a cloak that matched her amethyst eyes. Reiji quirked an eyebrow appreciatively, but it still didn't change the fact that Anise's presence reminded him of nails on a chalkboard.
He could tell that Anise was bothered by Bishop's words. He forced an expressionless face onto his features, but he was definitely enjoying the events that were taking place around him. Anise thought that she was one of the many sources that were irritating Bishop, and now she was getting upset. He could tell all of that from her heartbeat alone, then she began to retreat in the cloak, obviously losing confidence. Separating her from Bishop was doing a lot to tear their relationship apart. She was doubting their connection.. Soon his plan would come to fruition.
"Thank you for lending me this cloak, Lady Mirabelle. I will take good care of it and return it washed and neatly folded."
Forcing smiles? You're quite good at it, but you're not fooling me. I've faked my way to the top since before your grandparents were born. You're an amateur compared to the likes of me. Reiji thought with a silent scoff. He wanted to destroy this girl, or drink from her. Either way, he wanted to torture Anise, to make her scared. He didn't feel the same type of protectiveness of her as he had with Tanzy. He honestly didn't care if Anise lived or died so long as he got to torment her first.
"Yeah, there is. Didn't I tell you? I created it dear brother. It happens every day or every year, ever since 1497. That's what happens when you're born with a younger twin."
"1497... It's hard to imagine that I'm simply a year older than you two... No one would be able to guess.. That was such a long time ago." Reiji chuckled, definitely mocking the two twin's maturity. Though Reiji wasn't always a mature person either, as a child he was quite loving and curious, but he always had a thirst to learn and to prove himself among his peers. By the time Mirabelle was about five years old, Reiji had become the cold shell of a person he was today. Their mother had adopted him for the sole purpose of raising him to overthrow her eldest son, who was also Edward's pride and joy, Castiel. Reiji was never seen as a child, he was a tool for Elizabeth to use to hurt her husband for cheating on her and legitimizing Bishop and Demetri..
"I am fairly certain that it is time to go. I'll run off to help Jane get the horses latched onto the carriages. Be ready Reiji, you and your little dove will be heading off first. Make sure you haven't forgotten the letters, dear brother."
"Do you honestly believe that I'd forget something like that?" Reiji replied in very cold and distant tone to Demetri, his crimson eyes glaring at his younger brother with a thick malice. The memories that came with thoughts of their childhood were doing nothing to soothe Reiji's mood, in fact it was just making him more sour towards this entire trip. Although he loved his family dearly, a part of him also hated them, Mirabelle excluded. They all had such happy childhoods, except for him and Mirabelle. Lucky bastards..
Time Skip
"Your carriage awaits, brother, little dove."
Reiji ushered for Tanzy to enter the carriage first, boarding directly after her and sat across from her, leaning against the window, his eyes staring directly at her as they left the grounds for the first time since her arrival. He knew the humans were probably looking forward to this trip, but he wasn't going to give them a lot of free time, there wasn't a lot of extra time to have fun after all. They had to return home before noon, because the sun would be at it's hottest and that was when their lives were at the most risk. A few minutes under the sun would do no harm in the afternoon or morning, but mid-day, just ten minutes and it could fry their skin off.
"Don't get any unrealistic expectations about this trip. We can't spend a lot of time out and about. These trips are always a risk to our health. If we stay too long we could have the opposite result and be exposed as vampires, or worse, die on the spot." He sighed, quirking an eyebrow at her. He'd noticed that she'd been rather depressed as of late, but he wasn't sure why. Sure, she'd never see her family again, but he paid them well so they'd be fine without her. Was it because of them, or was it the kiss?
"Are you still thinking about that kiss?" He asked in an indifferent tone, not really coming across as very curious. In fact, he sounded rather sleepy. His crimson eyes closed, and he laid down on his side of the carriage with a yawn as he gave her a small opening to speak before continuing, "Don't. I was making sure that it was perfectly clear that you're mine and no one else's.." He stated in a mumbled tone, though it had a hint of possessiveness that laced it together. Not too long after that, Reiji stopped breathing, and his face grew calm. He was sleeping? Vampires didn't breathe when they slept? He didn't even realize how much he'd need this rest, for he would be running into someone from his past very soon, and his life would not be the same ever again.