“Desmona, meet Morrigan.” The three of them were somewhere deep beneath the earth, in the extensive underground portion of the Clearwater manor that was connected by tunnels to the necropolis beneath the city. It was dark. It was damp. Extremely uncomfortable for the landed Siren, who was unconscious on the floor.

“Is all this really necessary?” Desmona asked Druscilla, motioning to the almost comical number of chains binding Morrigan.

“It is, actually. Morrigan is quite the disagreeable fellow.”

There was no light source in the cell; both Druscilla and Desmona had darkvision. Desmona bent over to examine Morrigan closely. “I can barely feel her pulse. She’s almost dead.”

“A pity. Say, this would be the perfect opportunity to see what her dreams are like.”

“I don’t dreamwalk for fun. If I get hurt in there I get hurt in the real world.”

“It’s a risk worth taking if we get to know what exactly is going on in her subconscious.”

“Ah, there you go hiding your head in the sand again. What a wimp.”

“There’s a difference between cowardice and caution, Druscilla. It’s her dream – she dictates the kind of abilities I have in there. A strong enough reaction to my presence could instantly kill me.”

Druscilla eyed the Siren on the ground. “Mm – yes, the pinnacle of mental fortitude.”

“It’s still not worth it – if she dies when I’m in there I die too. She looks pretty close to death if you ask me.”

“First she’s too strong for you then she’s too weak. You’re more useless than I thought.”

“I’m just being cautious…”

“No, you’re making excuses – need I remind you that you are dead weight? You need to earn your keep or you leave. Go fight those angels you love talking about.”

Desmona pouted. “Fine – but it’s your fault if I die.”

“Oh, please don’t be so dramatic.”

Desmona closed her eyes and stood still. Druscilla patiently waited for results. Inexplicably, Desmona started crying. She woke up with a start as a gash opened beneath her left eye.

“What did you see?” Druscilla asked.

Desmona was winded as she answered. “Some sort of prison cell? It was dark with a flickering light. It felt terrifyingly lonely. She attacked me as soon as she saw me.”

“Sounds about right.”

“What do you mean ‘sounds about right’? I could have died!”

“Get over yourself. How old was she in the dream?”

Desmona thought for a bit. “Mid-teens I’d say.”

No sort of juvie is that inhumane. “Well, that sheds light on things. Now do your magic thingie and heal her. Maybe you could try to talk some sense into her. I’ll be back in a jiffy.”

“Where are you going?”

“To meet Knifey and Kissyface – terrible names, I know. I’ll be sure to ask how they came by them sometime.”

With that Druscilla left Desmona to her healing. The Succubus had explained on the way down that it was actually an attacking spell that would kill normal mortals. Of the three of us, I’m the only one without a heartbeat. Druscilla had much to learn about their condition, but that would have to wait – high society awaits.

Desmona had spent her first few days at the manor casting malevolent charms about the property. The staff had complained about sudden onsets of headaches and dizziness as a result. Clementine had straight up just passed out. She now slept in the outhouse with the horses.

The sky is especially pretty tonight. The stars and moon cast an ethereal glow on the manor grounds. Druscilla stood on the front steps and took it all in. Penelope slinked to her side from the darkness. I can’t help but feel that she’s enjoying doing that too much. “You look well, Pen.”

“As do you, my Lady.”

“I’m not a lady yet, Pen.” But please, don’t let that stop you.

“I don’t understand though, how will criminals get you into Court? Isn’t Lady Clementine a better bet?”

“Simply put, they have money, Clementine doesn’t. All she has is her family’s pride. From what she told me it seems her family chose to shun her.”

“Makes me miss my parents more.”

“Come on Pen, that’s all you ever talk about. Why don’t you think of the present? By this time next week, we will be living out our best lives.”

“I think galas and dinner parties excite you more than they do me.”

“How could you not be excited? There’ll be lots of important people, and wine, and dancing, and music – all the good stuff.”

“I’m just a simple country girl I guess. There was a time all I looked forward to was hunting rabbits with my father.”

“You’re a Vampire now – your game is much more dangerous.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that bit.”

“What? You don’t like the humans I’ve been bringing you?”

“Not exactly – but drinking someone’s blood, feels unclean.”

“I showed you how to do it so you don’t kill them. And all they remember is a foggy memory of ecstasy.”

“Still…”

“You know, it’s getting tiresome hauling people all the way here. Next time, you’re hunting with me.”

“If you say so – I can’t say I’m looking forward to it.”

“It’ll rub off on you, don’t worry.”

“You make it sound so simple. When I killed my first deer my father made me promise that I would never hurt another human.”

“I understand, it can be difficult. During the first days I spent at your home there were more than a few moments I nearly gave in to my thirst. It was agony – having you lay next to me while my instincts flared – but I persevered, and here you are.”

“You drank my blood?”

“Several times, actually.”

“I don’t remember any of that.”

“Of course you don’t. The point I’m trying to make is that I know how it feels to exploit someone I cared about. It hurt me deeply, but I persevered. You ought to do just fine with a bunch of random civilians. Ah – our guests have almost arrived.”

Druscilla could hear a pair of horsemen approaching the manor. One was the light trotting of a young horse and the other was a heavy thudding of a field horse. [Open Gateway] Druscilla cast the incantation and the gates swung open. Desmona’s spells are incredibly convenient. It would have been very classless if she had to run up and open the gate herself.

The horsemen came onto the manor grounds. Knifey was riding a brown shire reeve that matched his own monstrous proportions. He towered over his companion on a silver pony. Druscilla and Penelope straightened themselves as the pair dismounted.

So that’s Kissyface… His face was round as smooth albeit far less effeminate than Druscilla had expected. He looked more like a pretty pubescent. His heart was noisily palpitating like a marching drum – Druscilla could not tell whether it was due to fear or admiration at the sight of the two Vampires.

Knifey and Kissyface genuflected in front of Druscilla. I’m rather glad Clementine taught me this world’s courteous intricacies. “You may rise,” Druscilla told them with delicate grace.

“Thank you, My Lady,” they answered in unison.

“My lady, this one is known as Kissyface. It is my pleasure to meet you, Lady Druscilla.”

I don’t think I’ll get used to people referring to themselves in the third person. “The pleasure is mine, dear mister. Also, if you don’t mind me asking, have you no proper given name?”

“My apologies, my lady. ‘Tis the name they gave me in the Temple Orphanage.”

“I see… I hope you’ve been well, Mister Kerney. This is my good friend Penelope – I don’t believe either of you has met her.”

They exchanged the same hollow pleasantries among themselves. Kissyface’s heart was still pounding, and it was getting mildly annoying. Druscilla wanted to make it shut up.

“My Lady, may we come in?” Kissyface asked when he was finally done introducing himself to Penelope.

“Unfortunately you may not. If you step past the doorway you will quite literally drop dead.” Kissyface gulped. Knifey remained unmoved. “We may talk here.” Druscilla heard a faint sound emanating from the ground. If Morrigan and Desmona are loud enough for me to hear them on the surface then they must be fighting. Desmona was several times more useful than Morrigan, but she was not necessary for Druscilla’s plans,

“It is fine by us, my Lady.”

“Good. I trust Knifey has already told you our arrangement?”

“He has, my lady. He told me that Clan Redclaw now serves you, discreetly of course.”

In hindsight, taking over Redclaw seemed too easy. I judged them right – they only respect strength, and luckily I have oceans of it. “You are very important to my plans Kissyface – so listen closely. I want to start a Merchant’s guild; a bank really. This institution will deal in trade and moneylending primarily.” She proceeded to describe in greater detail exactly what type of guild she wanted. It would offer debit and credit services to traders and merchants, who up to that point had been travelling around with physical coins. It would also lend money to regular civilians, at exploitative interest rates. Knifey’s men would be the debt collectors. The guild would also hire existing merchants to build a monopoly. Those who resisted would be persuaded or appropriately eliminated by Knifey’s men – to be replaced by merchants trained by the guild itself. As for the guild’s name, it would be officially called the Serene Guild of Venexia.

Druscilla’s plans stretched far into the future. She would be obscenely wealthy long before then, however, seeing as she had no competition. If I can get the government or even a few influential nobles to take money from my guild then this country is as good as mine. When the time came she would install a cabal of Vampires across the country to serve as a shadow government. A Kingdom that existed to solely service her wants and needs – the thought made her spine tingle.

“Did you get all that, Kissyface?” Druscilla asked, after a ten-minute monologue. She handed him a sheaf of papers about what she had talked about. It was in written in the alphabet Zuheil had learned – completely different from this world’s. Druscilla was reassured when he saw Kissyface’ eyes scanning the document meaningfully. Seems auto-translate works both ways.

“I did, my lady. I hope I will live up to your expectations.”

You better. “Do your absolute best. Don’t hesitate to ask me anything.”

He bowed slightly. “Understood, my Lady.”

“Also, could you buy me two coffins please, the most expensive ones available.”

The man didn’t skip a beat. “What is your colour would you like the wood and upholstery, my Lady?”

“Dark colours; black and red.”

“Understood, my lady.”

“You may take your leave now.”

The two men departed shortly after, leaving Druscilla and Penelope alone once more under the night sky. Penelope rubbed her temples. “My head hurts from all that you said. Were you some sort of scholar like Lady Clementine?”

“More or less – I just hope that Kissyface won’t mess things up. I’ll be dropping by nightly to check on his progress.”

“Yeah, it seems likely he’ll screw up.”

“That’s a matter for later, anyway. I believe I heard some shouting from underground.”

“I heard too – Desmona must’ve let Morrigan out.”

“Wanna bet who won?”