Already enraged, Bishop became only more hostile as his sister rebuked him, spinning to face her with fury in his eyes. He had half a mind to strike her, though he knew he could never raise a hand against Mirabelle. He growled low in his throat at her words, snapping back with venom in his voice.
"A little scared?! Surely your senses are no less than my own sister, for any fool can tell she is terrified of him! Regardless, we had a system set up, and this asshole thinks it's his place to disregard everything and change things as he pleases! She is more mine than anyone else's, and I don't see any of you sharing your servants!" Bishop bared his own fangs as his little sister threatened his life in turn, eyes narrowed in anger.
"I dare you, sister. Try and stop me, you know there is only one person in this world who can stand up to me or make me reconsider."It was at that moment that said person intervened, the familiar squeeze on his shoulder drawing his eyes away from his sister and the prick. Demetri spoke with a surprising calm, always acting as the peacekeeper amongst the family. Bishop didn't move as Demetri's hands covered his own to put away the knife with a smooth and discreet motion. Had anyone else dared to touch him in this state, he'd have torn off the hand that did so. As Demetri began to speak, Bishop furrowed his brow, trying to see where he was going with this. What was his twin up to? He better not side with Reiji...
A satisfying thud met his ears as his normally passive twin slugged the creep in the jaw, sending said creep to the ground. Bishop smirked, his mood momentarily lifted at the sight of an injured Reiji. Served the asshole right. He looked over in approval at Demetri, eager to join him should the household gentleman decide to continue the assault. Sadly, this didn't seem to be the case, and he dragged Reiji off for a more private confrontation. Reiji better not do anything to his twin, or he
would kill the bastard.
As Ashlyn was pointed out by Demetri, Bishop glanced over as she approached Anise and offered to help. Despite her being revealed to him an hour or two prior, he hadn't expected to see her still in the castle. His scowl returned, glaring at her in distaste. The hell was she doing here?
"And who are you to scold us Ashlyn? You don't even belong here." Seeing Reiji return without any signs of blood or sign of a struggle between him and Demetri, Bishop felt a surge of relief. It looked like Reiji had simply been talked to, and was not particularly pleased with the conversation. As the older male spoke, the annoyed redhead simply continued to glare back, abruptly shrugging off Reiji's hand with more force than necessary.
"Don't touch me." he snapped cooly, clearly not willing to forgive his estranged brother.
About to address Anise, he realized she had wandered off, but try as he might, her scent was nowhere in the room. He scanned the hall for her just to be sure, but cursed upon realizing she wasn't in the ballroom. About to search the rest of the castle, he heard what sounded like the front door creak open. He nearly dismissed the thought, but eventually decided to check it just in case.
As he turned to leave the hall, another young noblewoman approached him, smiling in a blatantly coquettish manner. "Signore, would you perhaps honor me with a dance?"
Bishop dropped the formalities, far too agitated to give a damn.
"Mi'lady, don't you think if I had wanted to dance with you, I'd have asked already?" With this, he left the stunned woman in her tracks, storming out of the room to continue searching for Anise. He vaguely wondered about how his pathetic butler was doing and if he'd managed to even attend the festivities. Such thoughts were quickly forgotten as soon as he opened the door, his only focus to find Anise.
Stepping outside, Bishop paid no mind to the cold air and scanned the scenery in silence. As he thought, nothing was out here. He let out an irritated sigh, ready to go back inside and search the castle when something caught his eye in the grass. A pair of shoes. Not just any shoes, Anise's pumps for the ball.
A slight prickling of unease was added to his irritation, realizing she had taken of her shoes in order to easier walk or run. What on earth was that woman thinking?! Letting out a curse, Bishop approached the shoes, scanning the ground until he noticed the subtle changes in the environment. Slightly depressed grass and foliage. Snapped twigs but no animal tracks. He proceeded to follow, soon finding bloodied thorns as well to indicate her trail. A single strand of ebony hair was snagged by a low hanging branch.
After a few short minutes, the faint sound of her voice met his ears, angry words coming from the distance. Bishop arched a brow at her ranting, catching most of her words. She thought she was just a 'thing'? She hated his family? Then an even more unexpected word escaped his fair maid's lips.
Bullshit? Bishop nearly let out a chuckle, amused that such a sweet thing could get upset enough to use vulgar language.
'So she can swear...an amusing little dove indeed.' he thought, making his way forward.
A sudden scream pierced the air, and he ran towards the source, fearing the worst for the human. Bishop bared his fangs, ready to intercept whatever had accosted his maid. Seconds later, he reached the edge of a cliff, and footprints not inches from it in the dirt. Dammit!
Bishop looked over the edge, and let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding upon seeing Anise alive. She was hurt, but she was moving, and he could hear a faint whisper leave her lips.
"Who ever said you were a 'thing'?" Bishop swiftly jumped down, appraising Anise for injuries as he approached her, inwardly cursing at how badly she was injured.
"The hell were you thinking? Running away at nighttime of all things? You trying to get yourself killed?" Bishop noticed she was shivering, though from cold or fear he couldn't tell. Before she could bolt away from him, the male carefully tugged her close, one arm around her waist, the other coming up from under her arm and up her back.
[[pose:
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Tanzy took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself down, with minimal success. Heart hammering in her chest, she felt sick with worry for her friend, bitter that she couldn't protect said friend, and hurt that Reiji would so casually play with the servants of the house.
Like toys.
The thought made a bitter taste rise in her mouth, and the young woman feared she may lose what little food she had eaten. She managed to will the sensation away, gut churning in worry as her thoughts shifted to concern for Anise. Was she ok? Had someone come to her aid? She needed to go check on her ebony-haired companion...
Her inner debate was suddenly interrupted by none other than Reiji himself. She tensed immediately at the sound of his voice, certain he was angry with her. As he spoke, Tanzy felt almost sick to her stomach, trembling slightly as the image of him cornering Anise played over in her mind. She didn't realize her hands had clenched into fists on the balcony railing until they began to ache from the force of her grip. Hearing her own words relayed back to her earned a sinking guilt, followed by self-disgust. She cursed herself for not being even more specific, she had simply assumed he wouldn't feed on Anise either. A foolish mistake, she now realized. And it was too late to ammend the agreement.
Tanzy looked over just in time to see those cold crimson eyes staring at her, and she looked away abruptly, biting her lip as he continued. He wouldn't give her to Castiel, but he clearly didn't need her or care who was assigned to who. So why did it matter then? None of it made sense. She remained silent, until the words 'benevolent feedings' passed his lips, prompting an abrupt response to start forming on her lips before she could stop herself and think on her words lest she regret them. As he turned to head back inside, she stepped away from the railing to trail after him.
"J-just because you call it benevolent doesn't mean that's how it feels! S-she doesn't like being fed from, and she just got over being poisoned!" Tanzy swiftly began to close the distance between herself and her master, tears once more threatening to fall, but these ones were angry and defensive.
"I don't understand! You insist on keeping me as your maid, but you don't want me to clean your quarters, you don't have me fetch you things, or even seem to need me in the slightest! And even when you need blood, it doesn't matter who you get it from, so why do you care who's service I'm in? If you needed blood, why didn't you just make me give you some? If everyone is yours to use as you please, why do you need me? What do you want from me that you made me your personal servant?"Tanzy's hands balled into fists at her sides, shaking with raw emotion as she stepped closer to him, her normal tact and caution gone.
"O-our agreement said nothing of feedings at all!" she all but spat, only to continue on a tirade that she had only ever dared imagined saying to him.
"Why do you do these things?! You act like you don't care, then the next minute you're teasing me or complimenting me out of the blue, even when you make it known we're beneath you! You say something nice, but then go on to say you'd love to see what it would take to break me. I-I may be nothing more than a servant, I may be nothing more than food to you. Whatever I am though, I'm not a toy!" Tanzy forced back tears, voice shaking slightly.
"I'm not....I'm not a toy....I am anything but a toy..." A few seconds passed and realization of what she had just said began to process fully in her mind. Dread mixed with her frustration, and the young woman could feel the color leave her face. He'd kill her for sure now.
Even so, his suggestion was met with a flush, knowing he was going to retract the statement in an instant. She may have waited for him to begin leaving to start talking back, but she knew he heard every word.
As it was, she supposed she might as well answer. Not like he could possibly become any angrier than he was sure to be.
"Do you not think I would embarrass you sire? I have never been formally taught the art of dancing..." she murmured as she followed behind him. Maybe, just maybe her demise would be swift if she followed quietly. Besides, she did agree to serve and do as he instructed, even if he didn't outright order her to follow. She didn't have to like it, she just had to obey.