Castillo de la Muerte

Tanzy visibly relaxed at his calm answer, a small bubble of hope in her heart as he revealed she could, in fact, communicate freely with her loved ones. She even felt a bit bad for inferring he and his family were cruel. Soon enough, Reiji began to point out more rules, setting the conditions to be followed as he had for everything else. His kindnesses always ended with some other clause or statement to make her more than just a tad wary of him once more. This time was no exception, her face blanching slightly at his declaration of hating heroes. Though his words made sense, he wanted to protect himself and his family, so she didn't feel unduly perturbed at his warnings. She nodded to indicate her understanding, faltering only slightly as his final words sunk in.

He would never allow her to leave the manor.

Not even if one of her siblings found a spouse? Not even if a family member was on their death bed? The realization of just what that would entail was depressing, the thought of going outside into town not enough to soothe the bitter feeling. She almost felt like crying. She was grateful for the freedom to write them, but surely he knew she wouldn't betray his family? She'd never dare speak of the Santiago's secret, even if she thought anyone would believe her. No matter how big and grand the manor was, it was little more than a prison as well as a work place if stepping off the grounds would be forbidden.

Tanzy said nothing more, finishing her last bite and cleaning up her dishes before bowing slightly to her master, heading to her room to change.

She came down just before Mirabelle could lead Anise up the stairs. Upon seeing her ebony- haired friend, Tanzy was overcome with feelings of gratitude, amazement, and a burning relief that she could actually protect the girl.

Before the blonde vampire girl could lead her further, Tanzy rushed over and took her friend in an embrace, holding Anise to her so she could whisper to her.

"Anise! You never told me you'd given up your pay to my family! You're so kind to me...I couldn't ask you to do that, oh, but Anise!" Tanzy pulled back, smiling and holding her fellow maid's shoulders. "But more importantly, you'll be ok from now on! You don't need to fear anymore- the master won't harm you." she exclaimed in an excited whisper.

Alas, she couldn't linger with her friend some more, Mirabelle escorting Anise away, much to Tanzy's chagrin. She never could accept the blonde girl.



Anise's soft voice had reached his ears, the red head wondering what about his words made her laugh. She had been so distressed, and still seemed a bit shy, but she was smiling. He vaguely wondered if he'd ever figure out the subtleties of the maid's moods. He could tell her mood, just not what prompted the swift changes in her day to day expressions. Even more confusing was her lack of distress at being called an idiot. She never complained when he did and was now even going so far as to say it was ok, but why? Was she somehow actually aware he didn't call her one out of true malice towards the human, or did she simply think so little of herself? Bishop wasn't entirely sure which he thought was worse.

He glanced at the maid out of the corner of his eye, trying to gauge how she was taking his subtle and rough warning to not speak of her troubles out loud where prying eyes could hear. Thankfully, though she seemed abashed at first, the look didn't last and he sensed no lingering depression of her mood. When he spoke again, he caught a slight smile as the ebony-haired girl rubbed her neck in what he could only describe as an almost sheepish manner.

To his surprise, she had been thinking on something else entirely, and he noted a certain determination in her objective. Her heartbeat, her tone, her eyes, something about her made the revelation seem significant to him. He wondered to whom the letter was addressed, since she revealed a sour now nonexistent relationship with her mother, and her sister was dead. Who else did she have? She never mentioned her father, nor any other siblings. It made Bishop wonder who she could be mentioning. She didn't sound like she had the most pleasant of childhoods. Despite this, he reigned in his curiousity for the time being, leaving his sister and Anise as he stormed off to fetch Jason.

To his credit, the human male didn't keep the impatient redhead waiting. Even now, despite being drank from and hopefully having the shit scared out of him, the human was calm and professional in his reply. Just to irk him more.

"Yeah, stop asking that. You really think I'd let you get away from me without doing something for me should I require it? Stupid. Now come on, don't keep me waiting. And remember my rules!" Bishop snapped irritably, motioning for Jason to follow behind him as he marched back down the stairs to his younger siblings.

Demetri's words were not unlike him,and yet, they did elicit a slight twitch this time. Bishop didn't even need to look at Anise to know she was upset by his twin, her heart and voice easy enough to read without trying. Sometimes Bishop almost worried that Demetri had his sights and his fangs set on his maid. As close as he and his twin were, there were certain things he did not share. Mainly food and women. Though in all fairness, the latter was more in part to how picky Bishop was in his selection.

"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..." Bishop drawled in annoyance, rolling his eyes. To be sure, Demetri had a point, it was pretty satisfying the year before when he picked out a ball gown for Anise. But still, for just going out, he hadn't thought it anything to be concerned about. Besides, he wasn't particularly excited at the thought of playing with fashion as was his twin.

The mischief in Demetri's eyes didn't go unnoticed, Bishop's emerald orbs narrowing slightly even as Demetri patted his maid's head as he goaded him. Just as he was about ready to grab the nearest piece of decor and chuck it at a certain brother's head, Demetri made himself scarce by running off to fetch his assigned maid. Bishop scoffed, giving his brother a rather rude hand gesture. In spite of this, he was genuinely relieved to see a real smile on Demetri's face, his laughter something Bishop had dearly missed. He hoped being crass and uncensored with him would help rather than hinder. It was rare he was ever truly angry with Demetri, and this time was no different- his anger was simple annoyance and banter.

"Anise! You never told me you'd given up your pay to my family! You're so kind to me...I couldn't ask you to do that, oh, but Anise!"

Anise's eyes widened considerably as she felt a very warm embrace. She wasn't quite sure where it had come from, but she nearly stumbled backwards from the unexpected affection. Her cheeks flushed a bit, until she realized that it was Tanzy. A smile crossed her features, and she hugged the light haired girl back, "It's no problem.. my mother doesn't deserve it, and we very well cannot keep the money." She added with a lighthearted laugh. Honestly she just wanted the money to go to someone deserving, and Tanzy had a nice family from what she had heard of them. It wasn't a big deal, she asked Reiji way before he began to hate her.. He was quick to accept the payment change. It was one less different variable for him to sign, or something like that. He always spoke in a complicated manner, and despite her intelligence, Anise wasn't officially educated. Her mother just happened to be a fallen noble and taught her many things when she wasn't beating on her.

"But more importantly, you'll be ok from now on! You don't need to fear anymore- the master won't harm you."

Anise's eyes widened again, but this time in fear for poor Tanzy. What did she agree to? Reiji wouldn't just promise to leave her alone without some sort of deal on Tanzy's behalf. Did Tanzy really sell her soul on her account? She didn't have time to ask, so she shot Tanzy a small smile, "We'll talk later. See you soon." and she followed behind Mirabelle without shuffling her feet. She didn't want to annoy the blonde female, because in the end, despite the kindness she often showed her, Mirabelle was still one of her employers.

“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.”

"It'll be my pleasure, mi'lady." Anise bowed, continuing to follow Mirabelle along. Purple? Anise always liked the color. Red, blue, and purple were her favorites. Then Mirabelle mentioned it would look good on her, and she blushed a bit. She wasn't used to receiving direct compliments from the masters or the mistress of the castle. It made her a bit nervous to be completely honest, but she knew she had to reply or else she'd come across as rude, "T-Thank you, Lady Mirabelle." Anise began to inspect Mirabelle's room. She'd only been inside of it once, when Katerina was doing everyone's hair at the ball, but it didn't look much different. It was extravagant and tidy, very feminine. It suited her well.

“Mind lacing me up?”

She noticed that Mirabelle was getting dressed quickly, and she did notice that Mirabelle was fairly skinny, but she didn't find her unattractive. She approached immediately as she was asked to help lace up the dress, and Anise nodded, "Of course not. You look gorgeous in this color, Lady Mirabellle.." Anise smiled gently. It was the first time she'd helped someone dress since Anise first showed Alice how to put on her maid attire. Anise gently took the strings of the corset, lacing it expertly. She had to do this since she was a child, considering her mother was always too drunk to dress herself, so it was up to Anise to dress the both of them or they would have never looked presentable in public. It didn't take long, and Anise made sure to meet the fine line of just tight enough and leaving enough room to where it wouldn't squeeze Mirabelle's lungs out, "There you are, mi'lady. I hope it pleases you. It's been quite some time since I've laced another's corset." She replied, softly laughing at herself for a moment. It was the first time she'd ever laced a gown for a vampire.. In fact, some of the Lords were dressed by their maids, and Mirabelle was dressed by Jane, and now Anise.. she was kind of glad that Castiel and Bishop always dressed themselves. She doubted she would mentally survive having to dress her employers.

Eventually they returned downstairs, and returned to Bishop who had Jason in tow, obviously irritated by the fact. Anise sent Jason a quick and kind smile before Bishop's eyes turned to either of them. Though his next words kind of concerned her. She knew to not take his words too seriously, but this was rather specific. She couldn't help but overthink this statement;

"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..."

Anise, despite her better judgement, was beginning to worry that she was one of those annoyances. Did she also get on Bishop's nerves today? She didn't mean to, but perhaps he truly was growing angry with her? Was that why he admitted to threatening her life to Alice? He then flipped off Demetri, Anise's eyes widening. She'd never cussed or done anything like that before, her mother would have beaten her lifeless for doing something so unladylike.. but it was also something she rarely saw men do. Bishop was one of the very few that openly expressed foul language and she was a bit taken aback. If he was flipping off his own brother, he must have been very angry today. I must have overestimated his tolerance for me.. I've probably been making things worse..

Anise clung to the cloak, hiding her features as she pondered on her worries. Though the feel of the fabric in her hands made the dark haired maid remember that she'd forgotten to thank Mirabelle for it. Her eyes immediately turned to Mirabelle and she blushed a bit, but accompanied it with a bright and grateful smile, "Thank you for lending me this cloak, Lady Mirabelle. I will take good care of it and return it washed and neatly folded." She assured the blonde vampire.

Demetri noticed that his poor little maid was breathing irregularly, so he grew closer. Immediately he noticed a fever on her cheeks. His eyes softened and he let out a sigh of disappointment, "I'll pick out your dress while we're out. Sleep tight and get better soon, okay? I'll be back later to check on you, little dove.." Demetri cooed as he ran gentle fingers through Camilla's hair. His eyes had a glimmer of sensitivity in them, but it evaporated, much like his presence. He couldn't waste time, even though his maid seemed to be very under the weather. There was a lot to do in town, and very little time to do it in, especially if he and his siblings didn't want to become toasted. He made his way back to his siblings, deciding to respond to Bishop's comment before Demetri was forced to depart to retrieve his maid. He was still sulking a bit, wishing he could watch Camilla try on all sorts of dresses, but it couldn't be helped. He'd have to find the perfect one on his own.

"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..."

"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." He winked to his elder brother. Though he was only joking. Though this was the first time he shared his birth year in front of the maids. That also meant that Bishop was born in 1497. He then looked to the windows, nodding his head. There was no more time to be wasted, he had to get things in motion, so he decided to cut this conversations short before it got out of hand.

"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." Demetri reminded his older brother, seeing as there would be no guests to the party if Reiji neglected to deliver those letters. Demetri would not allow that to happen, parties were one of the only things that kept him going during this extended life of his, and they were something he took very seriously. Planning a party was no simple task as far as Demetri was concerned and he treated every party as if it were a royal wedding.



Demetri returned with Jane and the first carriage, a hired human as the coach. He exited the carriage, helping Jane out as well before opening the main doors to Castillo de la Muerte. The sun had not yet come up, but light was in the sky. It wouldn't be long before the bright orb was among them, "Your carriage awaits, brother, little dove." and he waited for the two of them to enter before ringing a bell as their carriage went off on it's way down the dirt path. Finally the next carriage came, and he smiled a bit. This was going to be the start of the plan, although he'd take his sister's advice about not leaving the two of them alone just yet. Mirabelle had some girly things in mind such as hairdressing and makeup, so he would let his sister work his magic on the maid before sending his twin and her off alone in this very same carriage.

"Bishop, Jason, Anise.. your carriage has arrived. Too bad Castiel and Camilla are in no shape to travel." Demetri sighed, though he didn't seem nearly as effected by his brother's and maid's absence as he was implying. Demetri was in a good mood, far better than usual and it was completely unclear as to why. He was almost annoyingly cheerful, just like before Angelo's and Katerina's deaths. Demetri's eyes also had a mischievous gleam in them, he definitely had something planned. He was going to play a prank on someone, it was just unclear as to whom would be his target to the unknowing individuals. He was going to enjoy this day, and he knew it would be one he'd never forget. Well, unless Bishop decided to decapitate him for it, then perhaps he might forget it.

After the three boarded the carriage, Demetri signaled the driver to head off, and finally the last carriage came for Mirabelle, Jane, and Demetri. Immediately Demetri opened the carriage door for the two women, allowing them to enter first before sliding in as well. This ride was going to take about thirty minutes to an hour, so there would be plenty of time to talk about their plans for Bishop, as well as whatever it was that Mirabelle planned to confess to him. Demetri sat across from the two women, and turned his attention to the window as they drove off, "What was it that you wished to tell me, Belle?" He was curious, but there was also a pit in his stomach. Something told him that this conversation would not be lighthearted and typical 'chit-chat'. Though if she needed to vent, he would allow it, regardless of what it was she had to tell him. Demetri was just that kind of man, he hated it when others were forced to carry heavy burdens on their own. He always tried to lend a helping hand when he could, he just wondered how much longer he could keep going. This was growing maddening, he wanted to just give up. He'd lived for 398 years if you counted his years as a human and his time as a vampire as well. He was growing tired of his existence, he wanted to just die in peace so he could reunite himself with Katerina and start where they'd left off. Their love was new, fresh, and it made him feel human again. It was gone before it even began, and now he was just ready to give up.

---

---

Jane smiled at Demetri when he reappeared, thankful that he had. "Deme, um..." Jane cleared her throat before continuing on, "Nevermind." Jane didn't know how to phrase her question and wasn't even sure which one to ask considering how hard arranging her thoughts seemed to be at the moment.

As soon as the horses were in place, she rushed inside to dress since she knew going to town in slacks and a tunic would not be appropriate in the least whatsoever.

---

---

When Demetri helped Jane out after bringing her the carriage to work with the horses, Jane would have dripped had his hand not been there. She was surprised it was the first time it had actually happened. She was too clumsy for this to be the first time. She did wince slightly when he touched her hand, feeling it in the aching hands that hadn't been used to the rough wood of the pitchfork for years.

Jane gave the head of the house a nod of her head and a little bow, before standing to watch it go off. She jogged to the door upon thanking Demetri, ducking her head as she did so, walking in as she reached the interior and moved to go upstairs to dress.

As Demetri opened the carriage door for Jane, Jane gave an appreciative smile to him, as she climbed in. She wasn't sure where to sit, but eventually did. Jane looked to Belle as Demetri addressed her, curious about it though she didn't speak as she had learned the night before. In remembrance of it, she rubbed her neck where she had been bitten, unable to find where Belle's fangs had pierced her skin.

As Jane looked out the window as well, she rested her hands in her lap, thankful she had grabbed her gloves from her room in order to hide her now pained hands. She wore a pink dress that was pale, her black cloak the only thing keeping her shoulders hidden from the world. She had nearly tripped in the shoes she was unused to, but was glad she didn't as the embarrassment would have been horrible.

Jane wondered what she should or could say in the carriage, or if she should or could. She found herself studying Mirabelle out of the corner of her eye before turning her eyes to Demetri and finding that she couldn't quite look away when she probably should have. She quickly looked away when she found she was doing it, studying the scenery outside instead.

---

---

Ashlyn walked down the streets of the town, her head held high and her shoulders back. Her father, or her adoptive father, always let her walk around where she wanted to when she wanted to. As of recently, she had grown to be taking care of him rather than him taking care of her. She cared for the fellow and though he knew she was a witch, he cared for her too.

Ashlyn wore white gloves, a twilight blue dress, and riding boots. She hardly cared what shoes she wore and though her maids fussed over them, she ignored it. She wanted to wear boots and since they couldn't be seen under her dress, her maids relented. Her hair was worn in a half bun with the rest cascading over her shoulders, all under a small, twilight blue hat. Though she lacked what most young ladies lacked, she did make up for it by her own confidence. She lacked a guide, a man who she leaned on and relied on. She nearly rolled her eyes at the mere thought of it.

Ashlyn ignored the strange glances she received on occasion, instead moving quickly without an issue. She had to find the store the towns person she had talked to told her the Santiagos shopped at. She needed to talk to them. Should she not, many lives could die if her sister decided to step into the picture that Ashlyn expected her to step into.

Her love for the Santiagos was as if she were a sibling to some of them. She was, however, not only loving towards them in a family manor. One of them had captured her heart years ago, a few centuries in fact. She still thought of him, and often too. She had only stopped being around the family when they had been hurt by discovering her sister. It hurt to know that they did judge her based on her sister, and that she was only as good as her sister was, which was not at all.

Ashlyn hid her thoughts easily, unconsciously in fact. She frowned and felt her chest ache, yet individuals walking by would see a smiling girl who was happy to be alive. They didn't realize she was centuries older and was using magic on them as if she used it every day, which she did.

Upon reaching the store, Ashlyn glanced in, relieved that none of the Santiagos had yet arrived. She moved to cross the street, going down an alley. She stood near the entrance, keeping an eye open for the vampiric family. She didn't even notice the group of men down the alley until they were a few feet away. The look in their eyes caused Ashlyn to not bother with her glamour, allowing her disgusted look to be on display. Such pigs were not to her liking whatsoever.

The group of men began speaking but Ashlyn really didn't care what they were saying, instead changing her appearance to them to be that of a demon, one she had seen before. Ashlyn shivered, but didn't drop the illusion until the men were gone. If anyone else saw it, it would have just been Ashlyn standing there with the group of idiotic and pigish men, then them running off without her doing anything.

She shivered after having thought of the demon, then moved to stand and watch for the Santiagos yet again.

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..



"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.

I loved Rei,”

Demetri's emerald orbs immediately grew wide. He knew that Mirabelle was always very close to Reiji, especially as children, but he never caught on to the prospect of Romantic feelings. He kept quiet, nodding his head as his sister made her confession. He might as well hear her out before jamming his two cents in, right? He didn't want to make Mirabelle self-conscious, because she would clam up and possibly never reveal what was bothering her. She seemed nervous enough, so his words would do nothing to help her until he understood her reasoning.

”When mom brought him home when I was real young, I thought he was meant for me to love. You know when two noble families plan their marriages, they let the children play at a young age so that there is less of a chance of rebellion? I thought that this is what it was.. I thought I was to marry, so I loved him. I didn’t realize it was just to get back at father…”

This much he knew, the twin boys were a stab to the heart, physical proof of Edward's infidelity, but there was little she could do. Women did not have the sexual luxury that men did. If she were to let her own eyes wander, Edward could have had her hanged for unfaithfulness. Though that was not the end of Elizabeth's pain. Edward legitimized the twins after after they became a few years old, directly after their daughter Mirabelle's second birthday. she used Reiji. She adopted the poor child, his biological parents dying of plague and somehow the boy came out unscathed by the illness. The black haired boy was isolated as a child, barely fed and had to find his own shelter. Everyone avoided the small boy in the beginning, afraid that he might be infected with the plague as well, even though he was only four years old. After he was clearly unaffected by the disease, others treated him poorly for surviving, as if he were some kind of ill omen or a living curse. That is, until Elizabeth happened upon him on one faithful evening, just a few short weeks after the twin's legitimization.

She took him in immediately out of pity, but also to make him her own living weapon. Using Edward's affair to stir up feelings of guilt, Elizabeth managed to convince Edward to legally claim him as their son. Shortly after, Reiji began his studies. She forced him through rigorous lessons and barely ever let him play with the other children. She was dead set on him becoming the successor to the family, and Reiji began to want it as well, because after his real parent's died, no one wanted him for anything until now. Elizabeth gave him purpose, and he loved her, despite the fact that she stole his childhood and used him as a living, breathing, knife to stab Edward in the back with. Demetri understood why Mirabelle felt this way, because Elizabeth was never clear about her intentions with Reiji, not until they were all much older, and he assumed that by then, Mirabelle was already smitten with their adoptive sibling.

"None of us were aware of it, Belle.. We knew that they had problems.. but we didn't know. Hell, we didn't even know that me and Bishop were bastards until that farmer's son in town said it. Remember? Me and Bishop bloodied his nose. He never gossiped again" Demetri chuckled, thinking back on their childhood with a bittersweet smile on his features. Most of the memories were sad, but there were a few worth mentioning. He saw her nervousness and reach forward, squeezing her hand in his own in a reassuring manner, "No one would blame you, Belle. We were all kids, and you were kidnapped before the true reasoning was brought to light.."

When they took me, I thought it was all over. At first it wasn’t so bad. I was simply locked in a room. I got bread and water brought to me and a bed to sleep on. I was terrified, but I wasn’t hurt. I spent a lot of nights in that room, and then all of a sudden everything changed. After that, I no longer got a room and a bed to sleep on. I got a four by four cage. If I misbehaved, I got a room again, but the floor was lined with wide spikes that I would be forced to kneel upon for hours with no chance of relief, until I learned my lesson. I couldn't stand to give my knees a break for the ceiling was way too low, and I couldn't sit or shift. They would feed me their blood when my knees and shins would be so tore up I couldn’t move. They didn’t give me the luxury to scar. My body hurt so bad, there were days I would beg them to beat me in hopes they would mark somewhere someone could see, only to give me their blood... I begged for it. Anise was a dear to not cinch this dress too tight, but I can't even feel it. I can't feel anything but fingers in my hair, or a touch to my cheek.. I know I have something tight around me from how far my lungs can expand, but I could be injured right now and not even know it.”

She couldn't feel the corset? Demetri was shocked. He'd never witnessed that kind of torture, but he knew that what she described was similar to how Reiji treated prisoners. He'd done plenty of torturing for this family, and he wasn't sure if Mirabelle was aware. He surely wouldn't tell her, because she had such a high view of their older brother. He didn't want to be the one to shatter her image of Reiji, he'd let someone else, if not Reiji himself, do it instead. He couldn't bear to do it himself. She'd been through enough and he didn't want to be at the other end of her future pain.

”What I wanted to tell you isn’t about what happened to me. It’s about this stupid civil war that’s going on in our own home. I don’t know what happened while I was gone,”

He noticed the tears, but said nothing. She wasn't crying yet, so he kept silent and chose to not act on her sadness. There was more to talk about, and he wasn't going to interrupt anymore. In fact, he could feel his own chest tightening. He never realized that she had been through so much, even though he was the first one to discover that she was alive.

”but I hate this fighting. I hate that everyone has to pick sides. I hate that at the very end of this, I will be against you and Bishop, against Cassie too. Rei saved my life; about six years ago, I heard his voice. He was still looking for me and I couldn’t fathom why. I was supposed to be dead. It had been centuries, which lead to my confusion if that was even his voice. I wasn’t crazy, I couldn’t have been, but I found my will to live again, to be free. I started my plan to get out because I knew that if I did, I would have somewhere to go.

Hearing that Reiji was more valuable than him, it stung a bit, but he understood why. He couldn't fathom how much hell that Mirabelle had endured, and Reiji's voice was the only one she'd heard in so long? The others quit looking ages ago, because they assumed she was dead. What were the odds that she'd be turned into a vampire as well? Now, seeing her in the flesh, Demetri felt stupid for that assumption. He felt horrible for giving up the search, but what's done was done. He couldn't take it back, he just had to be a better brother to her this time around, "I understand." He responded, keeping his lips sealed otherwise. He doubted this story was over, but he interrupted to let her know that he was still patiently listening, not bored and disinterested.

Ever since I’ve been back, I’ve spent just about every night in the corner of his room. He taught me to read, and is teaching me about the theories of math and sciences. He taught me to write… I have stacks and stacks of journals in the corner of his room, and in my closet. Some just practicing letters and words, others trying to write my nightmares out in the hopes of peace. My nightmares aren't of my past anymore, but what's going to happen to this family. Deme, please don’t make me pick. I love you, I love all of you, please don’t make me pick. I want us to be a family again, but I can’t do it on my own.”

She didn't know how to read or write? Demetri felt like he was the worst brother ever, how did he not catch on to something like that? Why did he assume that she was capable? She was taken as a young girl, so it should have been evident to him that she was unable, but his mind was elsewhere. For a while the family hadn't been acting much like family, especially since Angelo's death. The events of the previous year definitely put a huge gap between the residents of Castillo de la Muerte, and it was going to take a lot more than loving words to fix the problems in this family. Demetri let his arms slide around Mirabelle's small frame after she launched herself into a very emotional embrace with him. He began stroking her back with one hand, gently hushing her, "I have to be there for Bishop, whatever he chooses.. but I will try and mend this family. I hate the constant bickering as well." He whispered, smiling over to Jane who had to feel very awkward witnessing all of this. So he decided to lighten up the mood a bit. A moment or two after the embrace began, Demetri ushered for Jane to join them with his free hand. He had a playful smirk on his lips as he sent the maid a rather flirtatious wink, "You're welcome to join us, dove. There is plenty of Demetri to go around." He teased, realizing that he might be reprimanded for his playful actions by both women, but he didn't mind, so long as everyone was smiling in the end.

---

---

Jane smiled at Mirabelle, thankful to whoever helped her this morning into her dress and cloak. Jane appreciated the color of the dress Mirabelle chose, but wasn't sure if she was a fan of the length of it. Longer dresses were always a trouble to deal with. Jane wasn't sure of what she was hearing until Mirabelle began to speak. She wasn't sure whether she was supposed to listen or pretend like she wasn't there like some masters required their servants to do.

Mirabelle spoke of her love of her older brother, Reiji, of when she had been tortured. Jane's stomach dropped and her ducked head went even lower if possible. She felt like she was intruding on a moment that was only meant for her and Demetri, not for Jane whatsoever. She spoke of her nightmares and how she wished the family to be together again. Jane understood why she would speak of such things only to one or so person, as what she stated was horrific.

Demetri never interrupted, instead, speaking to clarify or make his listening known. Jane was hearing so much that she had never imagined. This family was as broken as any and just hid it from those that looked to them for care and help. She wondered who could have done these things to break this family, realizing only then that this family must have had more enemies than Jane had originally thought. It was a scary thought to know that this family was so broken and that they had enemies that could cause them such pain when they all cared for each other so, even if they did bicker and fight like siblings, it was only because they were siblings.

Jane didn't admit her fears as she sat, fiddling with a piece of her skirts. She looked up at Demetri and then down again, hoping to see what he was thinking but she looked down to quickly to see his response. When Mirabelle practically leaped into Demetri's arms, Jane felt more like an intruder more than ever before. She looked down awkwardly, then out the window yet again, unsure what to do.

When she looked back, Demetri smiled at her and she felt her cheeks flush. Why was she being like those girls in town who constantly giggled when the young lads winked at them? When he ushered for her to join, she gave him a confused look with a tilt of her head. Why was he so nice to her and so different than his siblings? She let out a laugh when Demetri said there was enough of him to go around, finding it entirely amusing. She wasn't sure why she wanted to, but she wanted to comfort Mirabelle as well, as if she were her younger sister.

"Very well, but for lady Belle," Jane stated as she gave a wink at her joy in remembering the title. She moved to sit on the side Mirabelle was not, but didn't lean into Demetri as much as she wanted to, instead, hesitantly, hugging Mirabelle across from Demetri. "Ms.Belle, I'm here for you as well," She stated softly as she ran a hand to undo a small tangle at the end of the girls hair.

She was suddenly aware of how close she was to Demetri, having only wanted to comfort Mirabelle, she hadn't realized how close they were. She flushed and tried to avoid touching him as much as she could, not wanting to seem inappropriate even though she did want to hug him too possibly... She wasn't sure what she wanted and his looks and words only made her more and more confused.

Demetri's answer earned him an annoyed huff and a dramatic roll of the eyes from Bishop, the older twin half tempted to whack his favorite brother upside the head. Folding his arms over his chest, his lips twitched in the hint of a smile at the wink. He was glad Demetri seemed to be in a cheerful mood, and it further made it impossible to stay mad at his twin. "Dumbass. I wouldn't put it past you..." he muttered under his breath, feigning a kick at his twin's back as he turned to get the other new human and the carriages.

Despite being glad they were ready to leave, he was less than enthusiastic seeing everyone present. Reiji's appearance earned a scornful glare, the redhead barely refraining from insulting the man. Mostly for the sake of his baby sister, but also for the sake of keeping Anise out of his list of people to torment. Mirabelle had allowed Anise to borrow a rather nice purple cloak, the color becoming on his little maid. He bid his sister thanks as well, looking approvingly upon the two females and all but ignoring Jason.

Thankfully, he was spared Reiji's presence as the self proclaimed head and his maid departed first, allowing some reprieve from the asshole in question. Bishop once again caught Jason casting lingering glances at Anise, earning a slight growl in warning. Looking over at the ebony haired girl to gauge her reaction to Jason's friendly and attentive eyes, he immediately forgot his butler as Anise's mood perplexed him. She had seemed fine in his presence, but now she was anxious again. Was she seeing her sister? Had he said something? He swore Anise was going to give him a migraine at this rate, her heartbeat and her sudden avoidance making no sense at all to him. Women!

Once his carriage was pulled up, Bishop pouted slightly at being separated from his twin. Why couldn't his sister go with the new help? Looking almost petulantly at Demetri, he then nodded to Anise. "Ladies first." he gave Jason a pointed look, expectantly waiting for him to open the carriage door. "Go on. Be a butler then."





Once inside the carriage, Bishop sat across from his servants, looking almost bored now. Recalling Anise's letter, he realized they hadn't thought of how she would deliver it. And he doubted Reiji would allow her to do anything, being the stupid git he was. Holding out a hand, Bishop wagged his fingers in a 'give me' motion. "I'll get your letter delivered. Not wise to let yourself be caught with it."



Tanzy nodded to Anise with a smile, silently assuring the other girl they would converse as soon as they next got the chance. Once Anise went off with Mirabelle, Tanzy felt rather alone among the growing group of people, the castle occupants not often all in the same room. She glanced over at Reiji, wondering what on earth he was thinking about, but not about to ask. She only hoped he approved of her behavior enough to not harm Anise.

Despite knowing the Santiago's were probably long-lived, she nearly gaped at hearing just how long they've been alive. Over three hundred years ago?! It made the tragedy of the previous year even more daunting, thinking such disaster could be wrought upon those as long-lived and powerful as the Santiago vampires. She glanced over as Anise came back down, the cloak a flattering purple hue. Tanzy smiled at her friend, eager to speak once they were in the carriage.

To her dismay, she realized she was incorrect to assume the servants would be in their own carriages separate from the nobles of the house. She went in as instructed by Reiji, sitting awkwardly and uncertainly across from her master. She wondered why no one else was coming in their carriage, but didn't dare question it.

His explanation of their business outside earned a nod of her head, the human not expecting much in the way of luxury or freedom in the first place, so thankfully she wasn't unduly disappointed by his words. "Of course, Master." she said softly, acknowledging his words. She was about to simply try to relax into a comfortable silence when Reiji brought up the kiss again, causing her face to flush a deep pink. She hadn't been thinking about it, but it being brought up again made her embarrassment and confusion flare up anew.

"I-I wasn't sire..." she answered him in little more than a whispered squeak, looking down at her lap as he explained that she was his. His? In just the servant way, surely? She swallowed hard, saying nothing as Reiji lay down. He must be extremely tired to be laying down in front of her.

About to simply leave him be for the rest of the journey, Tanzy glanced over at the male across from her and caught his sleeping face. He looked so different...peaceful. Her musings were cut short with a jolt of panic, the young woman suddenly realizing she couldn't see his breathing. Was he just breathing quietly or had he actually ceased breathing entirely? Concerned in spite of herself, she leaned forward to inspect him. Reaching a hand forward, she gently pressed her index and middle finger against his wrist, checking for a pulse as she looked for signs of life.

---

---

Jason smiled slightly as he saw the family being a family, remembering his own in the process. It was a sweet thing to watch yet he wasn't sure why he felt the same way. It wasn't his family he was watching. He wished it was though he didn't dare vocalize his wish as he knew that would only be bad in the end.

Jason didn't mind that Bishop seemed to want to pretend he wasn't there. It was certainly not hurting his feelings. He had always thought that was how people treated their help, but he didn't really find that it mattered all that much to him. Perhaps if Bishop had been different during their first meeting Jason would mind more, but not really.

Reiji and the girl... the maid Tanzy left first. Next was Jason, Bishop, and Anise, which made Jason want to do nothing more than walk all the way to town. He was going to be in a carriage with the twin sister of his loved one as well as the vampiric lord that may or may not either have feelings for the sister, or just was very possessive, but made sense and both were bad for Jason either way. He couldn't love Anise the way he had loved Alice, but he could certainly see her as his own sister that he had to look out for, nothing more than that. Did Bishop know that or did he believe Jason loved the girl? That would also be very bad.

Jason hadn't even realized that it was his job to open the carriage though he mentally kicked himself when he did. Of course it was his job, he was the butler after all. Who else was to open it? The maid? That would be rude. The lord? That would be dangerous. He opened the door with nothing more than a simple, "Yes sir," before allowing both Anise and Bishop into the carriage before climbing in after them.

Jason found that he was to sit on the side with Anise and wanted to hide. Why did Bishop hate him so? He didn't speak and Jason didn't either, savoring the peace and quiet as he usually did just for the sake of listening. He looked over to see Bishop asking Anise for a letter, then looked out the window again. He wondered how he could possibly ask Anise if she wanted her sister's letters, but didn't know whether to ask Bishop too. He'd ask Demetri. That was his safest bet. He'd ask Demetri to conduct the business so that Bishop wouldn't believe Jason was writing love letters to Anise and that he also didn't appear secretive. That was the best plan.

Jason nodded inwardly, then sat back, not observing the exchange for sake of giving the two privacy, even if it wasn't necessarily needed, in order for the two to exchange a letter, in a small carriage, with Jason sitting right next to Anise. His life was weird now.

"Ladies first."

Anise was taken by surprise when Bishop finished speaking. Was he serious? She couldn't do something like that, it was disrespectful to his status! Servants typically enter carriages last, and exited them first. Why was he being a gentleman and letting her go first? She was just a maid, nothing more, and nothing less. She was a nobody as far as society was concerned. The humans were working meals that had very long expiration dates.. convenient and entertaining, but occasionally the lords and lady of the house bestowed them with gifts or other kindnesses and their roles became very confusing, at least Anise felt so.. One minute she felt like an object in their eyes, the next she felt they were treating her as an equal, and then as food. Her head was spinning with confusion.

"Go on. Be a butler then."

"Yes sir,"

Jason opened the carriage doors, and Anise had to quickly make a decision. It didn't feel right stepping inside before Bishop, but to avoid further conflict with the Lord, she nodded her head and stepped inside, "T-Thank you." She stated as she looked to both men, taking a seat and fidgeting with her dress. She didn't want to irritate him more than she apparently had already. She never wanted to cause anyone trouble, and she definitely didn't want to anger him. He seemed to be having a very terrible day, so she decided to be as silent as possible throughout the duration of this ride into town.

Then a sudden headache rang through her ears. Her vision began to blur in and out, but she figured it was simply due to her headache. Anise leaned back in the carriage, trying to avoid making it known. She didn't want to ruin the trip, that would certainly irritate the head of house... Besides, she wasn't allowed to take a sick day. Little did she know, the headache was just another symptom of her being secretly poisoned.

"I'll get your letter delivered. Not wise to let yourself be caught with it."

"Thank you, mi'lord.." She replied back in a soft tone, a smile creeping onto her soft features. Anise closed her eyes due to feeling a bit dizzy, but also because her stomach was rather upset as well. She could vaguely see his hand expecting the letter. Anise withdrew her letter to Derrick from the robe she'd borrowed from Mirabelle, placing it clumsily in Bishop's hand. She kept her face concealed by the robe, but suddenly she felt kind of warm. She wasn't even upset or embarrassed, but her face felt hot, as if she was blushing, but she had no reason to be.. I-I don't feel so good... She thought to herself, but did her best to focus on her breathing, trying to conceal her situation from the others. She didn't want to burden the others, and she definitely didn't want to ruin the morning trip. It was important that they made this appearance, she knew that, so she had to press on regardless of how horrible she felt,"I-I apologize... I'm just really tired... Please f-forgive me..." she replied weakly, coming up with an excuse for why she felt so horribly. Though even she wasn't entirely sure as to why she suddenly felt so bad. Perhaps she drank too much wine the night before?

She had to be strong, and she was kind of glad she was doing so many push ups and took the horses out for a ride occasionally. The built up muscle was definitely coming in handy.. because if she felt this weak now, she couldn't imagine how weak she would have felt a year ago.. She was so much stronger physically than she was before, but now she couldn't even tell the difference. I'm burning up... She thought to herself, barely able to stand her current temperature, but the robe was the only thing concealing her current state from the other two, so she was forced to deal with it if she didn't want them to realize how she was feeling.

The carriage ride did little to make her feel any better, and it could have been argued that it was honestly making her feel much worse at the moment. Though she remained silent, trying to keep as much suspicion off of herself as possible. She knew this was going to be a long day, and she wasn't even sure if she would be able to make it through without passing out. Her symptoms were typical signs of being sick, but also side effects of the Mandrake extract. The hallucinations and all, and in high enough concentration it could cause her to fall into a comatose state, or even induce death at it's worst. Though she, nor the lords knew of this. She didn't even realize she was being poisoned. There were no physical tells. She cracked all of her symptoms up as a bad seasonal bug, and kept braving through it, but this was almost too uncomfortable to ignore. To the human eye, she appeared nothing more than sleepy, but she kept the cloak situated to conceal her from Bishop's enhanced vision. She was starting to believe that the vampire siblings could even see through walls with those eyes if they wished, so she wasn't very confident that this would work, but she had to try. I don't want to be so useless.. If they figure it out.. I ruin the trip for everyone.. How is that fair? She asked herself, especially since she figured that they would have as much fun as they did the last time that the girls dressed up and did their hair. Though, it wouldn't be the same without Katerina fixing their hair..

As the carriage bumped along the ground, Camilla gritted her teeth and held on with fierce determination. Nothing was going to make her stay in the entire castle alone, with all its emptiness boring down on her. Not even her illness can bring her down. Being completely alone is a fate worse than death or so she decided. Who knows what is lurking in those empty corridors? She couldn't get herself to settle down properly, not to mention the fact that she was still rather miffed that Demetri had found out her sickness so quickly. Vampires are hard to hide secrets from, and she didn't like her weaknesses exposed so easily under his gaze. Moreover, she was never going to let him just pick out her dress without her full consent. Knowing his tastes with the maid uniform, she would be tripping countless times before she even got to the so called 'ball'. She never saw the point in wearing any dresses, but perhaps she could get a shorter one if it really cannot be avoided.

With that thought in mind, she managed to sneak out of her room and follow Demetri on to the back of their carriage. She was regretting that decision every time the carriage went over a bump, for her head was killing her. Illnesses were common, but she had rarely gotten a fever this bad, her body wasn't used to it. With her injured hand throbbing as well, she wasn't sure how long she could manage to hold on. The bumble of conversation in the carriage was easing to a stop, perhaps this was the right time to get in? She gathered her thoughts for moment to push the nausea out of her mind as she hoisted herself up onto the roof with her elbows, trying to avoid using her injured hand as much as possible.

"Oh bugger." Whoever knew the top of the carriage could be so unsteady? Camilla did her best to balance on the roof, her heart pounding as she almost fell a few times. Being under a carriage's wheels can cripple or even kill you. From the things she had seen, this was going to give her nightmares later on, how close to falling she currently is. And she was looking for relatively peaceful life now. This was mostly her fault though, and she knew it. She was terrible at taking care of herself, whether she liked to admit it or not. Wounds and scrapes she could deal with, but she had a tendency to throw herself into risky situations so easily it is a wonder she hasn't died as of yet.

There was no choice but to ask for help now. Mastering the rest of her strength, she pounded on the surface with her good fist, as hard as she possibly could. She could barely hold on right now, so her odds were slim if they had not heard a thing.

Reiji was sleeping in a relatively peaceful state, but was woke quite abruptly to a poke administered to his wrist. The head of house's eyes fluttered open and he let out an annoyed, drawn out huff. The culprit was easy enough to narrow down, seeing as she was the only other person aside from himself that was inside of the carriage. Despite being awake, Reiji did not move however, except for his arm she'd poked a moment prior. His hand wrenched forward, clasping around her arm within a split second and he tugged her towards him, "For someone who wasn't thinking about our kiss, you seem very inclined to touch me." Reiji spat at the maid in a grumpy tone of voice. He closed his eyes again, trying to go back to sleep, but assumed she would want some sort of an explanation before she'd leave him alone, "Vampires do not have a pulse and we do not breathe when we sleep. Why would someone who does not have a heartbeat need to breathe? We only do it to fit in..." He explained in an exhausted huff. He did not release her, still holding Tanzy close as he tried to fall back asleep.

He had a bad feeling about this day and he wanted to get as much rest as he possibly could, he figured he would need it. His intuition was rarely wrong, after all. He hoped his maid would remain quiet for the rest of the ride, which was already halfway over. It wouldn't be long until they had to exit the carriage and begin their day in town. He hoped that his siblings and the hired help would be on their best behavior, but if they embarrassed him in public, he'd punish any of them severely, family or otherwise.

The current position that Reiji and Tanzy were in wasn't very appropriate, considering their political differences, but Reiji didn't care about stuff like that. He wanted sleep and he didn't care how he had to get it. Besides, no one else was present in the carriage, so long as he released her before the doors open, it didn't matter what they were or weren't doing inside of the carriage walls, "If you wake me again before arrival, I promise that I will make you live in my room with me, permanently." Reiji threatened, which would include changing clothes in front of each other and sleeping in the same bed as well. He was VERY serious about getting his sleep, because he definitely didn't want to share his living space, but he knew she wanted it even less than he did. He was certain the threat would be enough incentive to keep the rosy haired woman quiet for a while. He didn't get a lot of sleep these days between his responsibilities, helping Mirabelle, feeding, and this, he was completely and utterly out for the count. He wasn't even sure how well he would be able to socialize and pick a dress, although he already had a color in mind for Tanzy, he kind of knew what he wanted.

“Ha!”

Demetri glared a bit as his sibling stuck her tongue out at him, frowning at her. He could tell that she was still upset, but she was cheering up, so he close his eyes for a second and chuckled slightly. At least she was happy. He opened his eyes and stuck his tongue out back at Mirabelle, a retort finally coming to his mind, he just had to wait for her to say what he thought she would..

“She loves me more, ”

"For now." Demetri smirked in a confident manner, although he was joking as well. He wasn't exactly ready to jump back into the game head first. Sure, he was attracted to Jane, but he wasn't going to be as hasty as he'd been with Katerina. He wanted more time to woo his next love interest, or he wouldn't make an attempt at all. Demetri put one arm around the maid after his sister introduced her to the hug, and smiled. This was a great moment, it was times like this that reminded him that life was worth living.

“You’re going to want to hug him too though. If not, he’ll make you, just like he used to when we were younger.. but instead of a nice, civil hug, you get mauled in a bear hug that’ll take anyone to the ground.”

Demetri frowned a bit, but it was more like a childish pout, "H-hey! Way to make me sound like a flesh eating monster, sister. Now she'll be too scared!" His tone was even pouty. Being around Belle and Bishop always brought out his inner child and it made him forget all of the terrible things that they'd experienced. For a moment he could be a kid, and that wasn't too far fetched. Demetri was frozen in the body of an eighteen year old boy forever. Physically, he'd never grow up, so why did anyone expect him to emotionally?

Demetri caught Mirabelle's protective gaze of this and smiled a bit at her. He was aware of the limits. He could never feed from Jane, nor could he treat her like a prize to be won. He couldn't bed her and pretend it never happened, because Mirabelle would kill him, and the fact he'd still have to see Jane every day for the rest of her human life. She always did get the most interesting maids.. Katerina, and now Jane. He knew it was wrong to seek a close relationship with what wasn't his, but he always seemed to end up with Jane, one way or another. He wasn't actively seeking to swipe his sister's maid. She was just interesting and he was subconsciously drawn to her. His super hearing then caught on to something strange. He heard pounding on top of the carriage, only able to think of one person reckless enough to ride atop of a moving carriage.

"Camilla!!" He shouted, rushing to his feet. He was bent over, seeing as the carriage wasn't as tall as he was, and opened the door, finally standing erect as he reach his hand out to the maid, leaning out of the carriage himself. It wasn't nearly as dangerous for Demetri as it was Camilla, but the sunlight did pose a threat. He had to be careful about how long he was exposed. The hotter the day got, the less time he could spend under the sun's UV Rays.

Remembering her injured hand, Demetri stepped onto the side of the carriage, no longer inside with Mira and Jane, but outside hanging off the side of the horse drawn compartment. He finally was able to reach the young girl, scooping her up in his arms and carefully climbed back down, letting her inside of the carriage first, then climbed back in himself. His red hair was messy and his cheeks were slightly red, appearing to be sunburnt, but the color faded once he returned to the shade.

"Have you lost your mind!?" He snapped in an intense mixture of shock and fear. He'd nearly lost another maid, and he wouldn't have been aware as to how it happened. He was scared, but also very angry. He was glad that Reiji wasn't aware that she'd done it, but how would he hide it!?

"If Reiji sees how you're dressed, I'll have no choice other than to punish you.." Demetri dropped his face into the palms of his hands, suddenly consumed by stress. What was he going to do?? He had to come up with something quickly, how would he conceal her night clothes?

Bishop rolled his eyes at the human male, seeing his hesitation before he caught on and opened the door. Tempted to ask Jason for a second time in the past twenty four hours if he was slow in the head, the vampire resisted the urge in favor of not fretting Anise so much with an argument. Since when did he care though? He didn't, but it was more convenient to have her at ease!

Following the human girl inside without warning, he indicated Jason close the door behind him once he came to sit beside Anise. As the carriage rode on, he was glad Jason and Anise weren't chatting merrily with each other, and took a small amount of pleasure in how he could intimidate them with his mere presence.

Bishop nodded approvingly as Anise handed over the letter without hesitation, the smile shown to him secretly a source of pride for him. Putting away the letter in his own jacket pocket, he noted her hand didn't seem as steady as usual. She wasn't unnecessarily clumsy, so it was unusual to see. However, Bishop decided it was likely due to the movement of the carriage.

His suspicions began to arise anew as Anise practically buried herself into the robe, her breathing taking on an almost forced steadiness. Brows furrowed, he began to watch the maid with scrutiny. Before he could question her, she offered an explanation and apology. Even more suspicious now, he listened carefully for her heartbeat and tone. Despite his doubts and her uncertain tone, he had an odd feeling she wasn't truly lying. She did seem tired. Furthermore, she didn't seem like she was hiding a secret, more like she was uncomfortable about something.

Giving her a dubious look, Bishop clenched his jaw and watched her like a hawk. "Tired? Well, sleep then...and that better be all." he muttered, crossing one leg over the other and trying to keep himself calm and collected. Was she ill? Just tired from the lack of sleep? Perhaps it was from the lack of sleep..she had been staying awake a lot as of late...



While she had hoped to have some positive sign of life, Tanzy had not expected or wished for an abrupt tug on her arm. Letting out a slight yelp at the unexpected movement of being suddenly yanked forward, Tanzy felt her heart jump into her throat in shock at his words and sudden closeness. His angry words made her flinch, and to add insult to injury, his explanation made her feel quite foolish. Right, vampire. Not human.

His warning earned a slight squeak of mortification, her eyes wide at the idea. She quickly whispered an apology before promptly sealing her lips shut, determined to keep absolutely still and silent for the remainder of the ride. Expecting to be tossed back to her seat in annoyance, she soon realized she was once more horribly mistaken when it came to her new master. Burning red, she bit her lip to keep from asking him to release her, sitting as still as she could manage in spite of her embarrassment. She only hoped he'd release her soon.

---

---

Jane smiled at Mirabelle's joy, finding it cute and amusing at the same time, as if she really were her little sister. Jane found herself even closer to Demetri and Mirabelle a moment later and her cheeks blazed as she found Demetri was right there, inches away if that. She would be fine with it normally, having no problem with where she was, but instead, having her closeness only being caused by how close she was to Demetri, and it wasn't like she was pressed against him.

She couldn't help but feel like Demetri was possibly a mind reader as well as a vampire. He was too close to what she was so uncertain for. Perhaps he was correct. Or perhaps he was entirely wrong. Either way, Jane was blushing and wanted to hide from his gaze.

When Jane heard Mirabelle's explanation, her eyes widened though she smiled at the amusement that Mirabelle got from the situation. Jane's embarrassment flushed away as she rolled her eyes slightly, giving an over exaggerated sigh that she made clear was done in good humor. "I don't doubt he could," She said with a fake sigh before giving him a small hug that may or may not classify as a hug in any way.

As Jane heard Demetri remind her what he was, she nearly shivered. Jane made sure to keep her smile on though the joy she had felt at being with people faded slightly. She had forgotten that Demetri was a vampire. So was his sister. She was in a carriage of vampires that she had always heard would eat girls such as her when given the chance. She wasn't being eaten, but she couldn't push the thought of the fangs Mirabelle had shown her last night from her mind.

She sat back with Mirabelle, looking out the window again. Wondering about Demetri before realizing she probably shouldn't. There was a banging that caught a frown on Jane's face before Demetri identified the noise. Camilla was on the top of the carriage... Camilla, the little maid. On top of the carraige!

Demetri was like a cat as he climbed, his athletisim something Jane had only seen in her brother before. When he came back in, Jane covered her mouth in her surprise and shock. Demetri's face was sun burnt it was so red, but the sunburn like quality receded and he was again the Demetri Jane had always seen. She had forgotten he couldn't be in the sun.

When Demetri snapped, Jane found herself leaning back into her seat, as if trying to be further from him. She had wanted to be so close to him for one moment, and now, she couldn't help but want to shrink away. She had only ever seen someone react to something like Demetri was reacting one other time. It was a time that had nearly gotten Jane taken from her brother and their house nearly destroyed. She didn't like that memory and often didn't think of it since it wasn't very significant in her life anymore. She found that she was slightly scared of Demetri at the moment, no matter how kind and amusing he had just been. He was scared, and clearly angry or upset. Jane knew people acted irrationally when they were angry or upset or scared, and Demetri was certainly all of those. He had to be.

Jane didn't look at Demetri as she sat in her corner, quiet and hoping for the episode to finish. Jane then looked to Camilla, surprised she was in her night clothes still. Demetri was so worried about her, not wanting to punish her. How was he to do anything? Jane looked down at her own outfit. The dress Mirabelle had picked out for her and the cloak that rested on her shoulders and covered her dress. It couldn't be too much of a crime to be out in her nightclothes if she covered them... Wouldn't it?

Jane reached to her neck, undoing the laces and holding them for a moment. Should she do this? Would she get in trouble? She certainly couldn't allow Mirabelle to give up her cloak, she was the lady of the house after all. Jane knew Demetri couldn't very well give his coat to Camilla and cover the entire girl's frame. So, Jane had to, otherwise Demetri would have to punish Camilla and Reiji would be angry. Jane wasn't sure she like Reiji when he wasn't angry, so she certainly wouldn't ike him when he was.

Jane managed to stand for a moment as she dragged the rest of her cloak out from under her. "Camilla, you could wear the cloak and hold it close to you to keep Reiji from seeing it," Jane explained gently, not as if she was speaking to a child, but as if she was speaking to a friend who just needed a favor to be happy.

---

---

Jason had only really looked to Anise when they entered. He wanted to steal a glance, but exercised self control as he refrained from doing so. Anise was so small, and tired. Jason did look over as the talking between the two commenced, refraining from revealing his thoughts on his face, instead, just studying the exchange and frowning sightly when Anise's movements were clumsily done. Was was that?

Anise wouldn't feel better anytime soon since she was in a carriage ride and it was so difficult to actually sleep. How could she? She should try, Jason knew that, but he wasn't certain she would be able to anyway. Anise was not Jason's to worry for, but she was someone he hoped to hold dearly in his heart, just as a close friend, as if she might have been the one that he had fallen in love with had she not had another friend that had captured his heart first.

Jason wasn't sure what to think of Bishop. He seemed to care for Anise. He was very possessive after all. Yet... How could he be so... He wasn't being harsh, perhaps he was just scared. That was often something that caused people to be rash and not say what they mean to say. It wasn't Anise's fault that she was tired, though Jason wasn't so sure that was all it was. He had seen tired, he had experienced tired, but he hadn't yet seen it such as this.

Jason stayed quiet, not wanting to anger Bishop and hating that he had to stay quiet in order to not anger Bishop. As much as Bishop believed it was a day dedicated to making him unhappy, Jason certainly wasn't going to contribute to the red head's unhappiness. That would be a death sentence. Jason wasn't ready to die yet.

He let his thoughts wander as he moved to look out the window again. His thoughts wandered back to a memory of him and Alice together. They had walked down the street and it had just lightly sprinkled. The two had been walking together, her hand on his arm and his face plastered with a smile. They had been so happy. He had been working hard and had recently begun being chastised by his mother to consider marriage since he was nearly twenty.

Jason had been thinking about trying to see if Alice was willing, he knew she was young, only a year or two younger in fact, but still... He had been planning on asking her when she had gone. He had gotten a necklace for her, one he had saved up and spent money he had earned by working very hard for. The day before he had wanted to give it to her, she was gone. She as there one day and gone the next and Jason had broken down. He didn't eat for days, he worked long hours. He took on two more jobs. He worked and worked and worked and worked and found out where Alice went. He was so thankful that he knew what had happened, but he was hurt and sad.

He was happier knowing. Knowing she didn't leave because she wanted to be away from him, something he had believed was the case for so long. He ran a hand through his hair, sighing as he brought himself back to reality, studying the passing scenery once again, focused and in reality again.

Reiji did not stir a single muscle the entire duration of their carriage ride, until his extraordinary auditory senses caught on to outside voices. Reiji then released his maid and sat up to tend to his untidy ebony locks. He fiddled with his hair as if he'd never even embraced her for an entire half hour. Once his hair returned to a pristine standard, he switched to smoothing out his suit. By the time their carriage driver opened the door for them, he already looked just as regal as he had been before his nap.

Reiji stepped out of the carriage, his eyes squinting from the annoying sunlight, but he waved to the many villagers that stared upon him in admiration. They threw flowers, and some of the girls even squealed. The Santiago family was highly praised by their region, and Reiji did well to keep their reputation in tact. He had a warm and caring smile on his face, one that he definitely had practiced, because he hardly ever used it inside of Castillo de la Muerte. They definitely were deluded by the man's facade, because he was nothing like the man that the perceived him to be. Reiji threw out gold coins at random intervals, "Eat well tonight, it's my treat. Tell your children that the Santiago care about their people and that we are doing everything in our power to bring the Vampires to justice." He stated in a kind and gentle tone, but it grew serious and determined as he mentioned the pursuit of the vampires that plagued the village. Little did the villagers know, the Santiago were the vampires attacking their wives and daughters. The ebony haired man continued throwing the coins until he reach the store. He slipped inside, making a beeline to a particular dress rack and removed a very beautiful light pink dress mere seconds after he entered the facility and handed it to Tanzy. He knew that it would look gorgeous on her, because he had it specifically designed for her prior to their arrival, but he wouldn't let her know that. She didn't need to know something as trivial as that, because she'd look into it too much, and she'd get the wrong idea of him. He didn't like her or anything, she was simply an intriguing toy that he refused to part with... that was all. On another note, he had other business to attend to.

He gave Tanzy a stern look as he chose to inform her, "I have other matters to attend to, please wait for the others here. Do not force my hand, I'd hate to punish you again after watching those witches burn." He whispered to her in a very discreet manner. He kept to his punishment, and made her watch the trial and burning of the accused witches a few days ago. It was gruesome, but he knew she would pay more attention to her actions from now on, so he didn't regret it. It would keep her, and all of his siblings safe, so he didn't care if he was seen as a horrible man in her eyes. He didn't care who hated him, so long as it kept everyone alive and well. Well.. maybe not everyone. He still wanted to see Anise dead, but that was a matter that was out of his control. He'd lose the trust of his siblings if he chose to kill her, and not to mention he would lose his little contract he'd written up with his maid. Her spying for him would prove invaluable, "Try on your dress, I'm sure that it fits and will look lovely.. but just to be certain." He commented, sending her a wink before exiting the store, throwing a few more coins as he went along. He could have sworn that he saw a familiar face in the crowd, so he decided to do his errands a bit early. It couldn't have been her... but he chose to investigate. If she was here, he was sure trouble would soon follow. Ashlyn couldn't be here... There's no way. I haven't seen her in ages.. Perhaps I'm just a bit more fatigued than I thought? I probably just imagined that I saw her face...

"Tired? Well, sleep then...and that better be all."

Anise felt a nervous pit in her stomach. She believed she was a bit more than just sick, but there was so much going on that she wasn't even sure why she felt so horrible. She hadn't been exposed to anyone who was ill.. And this was like no illness she'd felt before. Her stomach felt as though it was gently churning just enough to make her feel nauseous and uncomfortable. She hoped she'd feel better soon, because Bishop's words and sharp stare made her nervous. She'd told her fair share of lies as of late, which she wasn't exactly proud of... Either way, she knew she was skating on thin ice where Bishop was concerned. His lecture earlier that morning was enough to prove that he wasn't going to put up with it for much longer.. She knew she shouldn't keep things to herself so much, but she didn't want to come across as weak or a constant problem.

"Thank you for understanding, mi'lord.." the Anise whispered out in a pitiful manner. She kept her body leaned against the side of the carriage opposite of Jason, not wanting to get him in a worse situation with Bishop than he was already in. It was nice having a human boy around, and she didn't want to be the cause of his demise. Jason was a constant reminder that human men existed, and to beat it all, he knew Alice nearly as well as she did. She didn't really speak about her sister a lot, but it was reassuring to know someone else missed her.. Everyone else was probably glad to have Alice out of their lives.

Anise had a little trouble, but somewhere among her thoughts she managed to slowly drift off. She grew still, breathing a bit shallow, but she was definitely still breathing. The road seemed almost endless, but they eventually made it into town, and right before the driver pulled in behind Reiji's carriage, they hit a bump in the road and Anise's body lightly shifted in the opposite direction, her head gently falling against Jason's shoulder. The ebony haired girl was none the wiser, still engulfed in a deep and peaceful sleep while Jason and herself would no doubt be on the receiving end of Bishop's wrath. Though on the bright side they were finally where they needed to be, and Reiji was nowhere in sight.

Still not entirely convinced, Bishop continued to gaze at Anise with scrutiny, trying to detect what was wrong with her. He barely looked at Jason, glancing over at the boy in warning only a few times. He decided against speaking for Anise's sake, letting the only sound be the clacking of horse hooves and the roll and rattle of the carriage and it's wheels upon the ground.

Hearing a sigh from Jason, Bishop turned his eyes to the human male with an almost bored and contemptuous look upon his face. "The hell you sighing about?" he asked softly so as not to rouse the maid, hoping the nap would do her good. Not even waiting for Jason to finish his answer, the red head looked towards the young woman sleeping, something akin to a smile threatening to show as he gazed at her while listening for his butler's response.

Finally, the scenery changed to the more crowded village streets, earning a roll of his eyes. The clueless humans were crowding around and acting giddy- something that irked Bishop more than interested him. He disliked crowds and noisy idiots. These humans were little more than cattle to him, and he honestly didn't care one way or another. They were excited because he and his siblings were nobles, not because any of them gave a damn, so why should he?

Looking back to the other two occupants in his carriage, Bishop went very still upon seeing a still sleeping Anise leaning against Jason. Scowling and giving Jason a venomous glare, Bishop grabbed the poor human by the collar. With a forceful yank, the vampire jerked Jason to the seat beside him, only to reach over and lower Anise gently onto the seat before she could fall over without the body propping her up. "Sit over here, idiot!" he hissed softly in an effort not to wake the ebony-haired girl. In his annoyance, Bishop barely registered the now stopped carriage.



Tanzy took heed not to move an inch lest she awaken the vampire lord and he follow through on his threat. To her relief, he finally released her from his hold, and she hurriedly got into her seat and straightened herself out, eyes avoiding his ruby ones. Even as a perfectionist, her skills for making herself immaculate were easily outdone by the man, his handsome dark hair the picture of perfection. His clothes were not a wrinkle out of place, and he looked the spitting image of a fine Spanish gentleman. If only he was as pleasant as his appearance.

Peering out of the window at the gathered crowd of village folk, Tanzy was in awe of how excited the people seemed to catch sight of the Santiago family. Squeals of swooning girls and cheers of villagers were met by a smiling Reiji, a sight she found almost as amazing as it was rare. His smile was something out of a fairy tale dream, perfect and charming and kind. Had she not known any better, Tanzy would have believed him to be a dashing prince enjoying his subjects.

Reiji's words snapped her out of her wandering thoughts, a tight coil of something akin to disappointment swirling in her gut, only to morph into an uneasy shudder. He lied so easily, so readily to the excited crowd that it scared her. How much of him was a lie? Was anything he said to her true? Would he really honor an agreement? Did he really enjoy teasing her as it seemed, or was it just some sick game to see if he could make her break? She felt pity for the people, realizing with a sickening sensation that they did in fact, end up the prey for the Santiago's and probably any other vampire associated with them.

Watching as he scattered coins to the throng of happy and now grateful people, Tanzy made sure to follow close behind lest he scold her or think she was trying to run from him.

Looking around the shop, she marveled at the lovely clothing, all but squeaking in surprise as Reiji promptly handed her a gorgeous pink dress without hesitation, obviously already having had something in mind. Surely he hadn't picked something ahead of time? She flushed in spite of herself, holding the dress carefully so as not to damage it in any way. She looked curiously at the vampire, only to turn white as he spoke to her. She almost felt sick in her stomach at the warning, remembering the evening all too well. He had followed through on his punishment for the dinner, making her watch people burned alive. She had been tearful and horrified the entire time, but she somehow managed to not turn away out of fear for Anise's safety should she refuse to watch. She nodded, swallowing hard as she answered. "Y-yes sire, I'll stay right here. I won't forget my place." she promised, biting her lip as she was urged to try on the gown. His wink earned an embarrassed turn of her head, face warming back up.

---

---

Jason was thankful Anise was willing to try to sleep a bit in order to feel better. It was a sign that she was doing okay and taking care of herself. However, as Jason was about to relax a bit, Bishop seemed to catch a sigh. Jason didn't even realize he was sighing until Bishop pointed it out.

Jason looked to Bishop and was trying to figure out a good way to respond when he seemed to move on. He was about to go ahead and just say "nothing sir," or "I'm stuck in a piece of work I'm writing". He decided in the end, he should just close his mouth.

Jason smiled slightly at the other humans that were around the carriage, the excitement that they seemed to have. It brought Bishop into a new light for Jason. How could he be so loved if he wasn't nice at least on occasion to the people of their town. It made Jason believe there was a chance for Bishop to be kind. Perhaps not for a long time, years, but potentially a reality someday.

It was then that Jason felt something press on his shoulder and looked. He was confused for a moment before he realized Anise was now leaning her head on his shoulder. Jason froze. He was dead. He was literally dead. Or he would be. Very soon. He felt bad for not wanting to be touching Anise, but it wasn't just because Bishop was so overprotective, but because Anise wasn't her sister and though Jason was glad Anise was alive, he guiltily wished more so for Alice.

He looked to be sure Bishop hadn't seen him yet and found his eyes widening. He shook his head as Bishop went still. Jason tried to speak but found that he didn't want to wake Anise. "Lord Bishop, I swear-," Jason began before Bishop grabbed him by his collar and yanked Jason over to sit beside him. Jason found his hands steadying him as he put one of the windowsill and the other on his seat as he tried to steady his rapid breathing.

Upon finding the courage to open his eyes, he saw Anise was not resting soundly on the seat by herself. He looked to Bishop sharply, his surprise not hidden at all. "M-other," Jason exclaimed at a barely audible whisper. He had been about to say a rather inappropriate word in French but had caught himself.

Jason didn't realize the carriage stopped until he felt his head steady and looked out the window to see that the scenery was no longer moving. It didn't take him but a second to remember his new job as he opened the door and stepped out, holding the door open for Bishop and Anise, though he wasn't sure if Bishop would even want to wake the girl to bring her inside the store that the carriage had stopped in front of.

He wasn't sure why he was somewhat surprised that he could see another carriage already there. He looked about for the pink headed maid that had left with Reiji, the girl named Tanzy. She wasn't in site though, perhaps inside with Reiji. Jason only looked for Tanzy because of how he felt around Reiji... Uncertain and quite sure he had everything planned out even though there were so many possible things that could happen.

Anise was breathing softly after being laid down on the seat by Bishop. She didn't even stir through the transition, despite having switched position twice in under a minute. Her black hair fell in her eyes as a result of being laid on her side. Her ebony bangs hid the upper part of her face as she slept peacefully and undisturbed, concealing the serene expression of her sleeping face. She had a dreamless sleep, considering her exhaustion, but it was a much needed rest nonetheless.

She began to wake after a few moments. Hearing the noise of the bustling street outside began to bring the young woman back to reality. She let out a soft groan, as her eyes fluttered open and Anise's body lightly tensed as she stretched her arms, and she slowly sat up with half lidded eyes. She brushed her knuckle gently against her eyes, hoping to clear her blurry vision. After she could see properly again, Anise covered her mouth with the other hand to politely conceal her silent yawn.

She turned her head, gazing out the window to gauge their location and her eyes immediately widened in surprise, "W-We're here...?" She asked in a surprised tone, her voice questioning as she looked to Bishop. Suddenly she noticed something strange. She could have sworn that Jason was sitting beside her when she went to sleep, yet now he sat beside of Bishop, looking very startled and disheveled. She couldn't help but raise a questioning brow, "Did I do something I shouldn't have..?" Her voice was innocent, and her blink was totally oblivious. She had been asleep, so she held no recollection of using Jason's shoulder as a pillow. She certainly wouldn't have been able to ask, let alone make eye contact with the butler had she known the truth.

"Should we go, mi'lord?" She asked curiously, peeking out of the carriage with enthusiasm. She was definitely looking forward to today's activities. It was mentioned that they would style their hair and sample makeup options, and she couldn't wait. She'd never been so pampered, which was oddly enough a strange perk of serving the Santiago family, at least when a party was around the corner. She couldn't help but be a bit excited. Her hometown was a very small farming village, but this was a full on city. She couldn't help but be a little interested in looking around.

She kind of hoped to buy a violin while they were out, but she wasn't too hopeful. She had a bit of money that she requested to be given to her for such an occasion, but she doubted Reiji or Bishop would allow her to wander off on her own for any reason, at least not this early in their service. Was a year long enough to gain their trust? She highly doubted so, she was was prepared to be disappointed as far as buying a violin was considered. She couldn't play, but she did wish to learn. She straightened out her clothes, looking between the two men as she awaited an answer, trying to figure out why the two were so intense at the moment. She couldn't shake the feeling that this was her fault, but she couldn't think of anything she could have done to cause this, especially since she had been asleep. Something seems off.. Did they fight or something? It seems.. A little worse than usual.. Anise mentally asked herself, but it was none of her business.. She couldn't just simply ask, because it wasn't her place to do so.

She opened the door, "Who is supposed to exit first, mi'lord?" Anise inquired, tilting her head at Bishop with unfaltering curiosity. Part of her was a bit disappointed that she would likely be unable to purchase a violin, but they needed to get a move on, their time was limited, "This is my first time riding in a carriage with someone of higher status.." She admitted. Honestly, she felt weaker than before, but she had to press on for the sake of the Santiago's reputation. She knew it would do no one a service if they were all deemed vampires or witches, because both were slaughtered, with or without proof. A single accusation could prove fatal for everyone in the castle.