~1821~

Even though it had been just shy of a year since Kristofer had made his return home known, Claire’s and Sean’s relationship had remained chilly ever since. After she left the first meeting of the year without having spoken a word for the entirety, Sean remained in the room alone with a heavy sigh. He wanted badly to remind her of that promise they had made to just stop hurting each other for whatever time they had left together; however, he was quite sure he had broken that promise quite effectively when he had rewritten Kristofer’s brain so drastically that he could very well end up murdering his own family just because Sean had decided that their lives were worth less than his and Claire’s.

Sean did truly believe that the world would be better off without creatures that murdered their kind on sight without even allowing the possibility that Kindred were anything but monsters. However he also knew what it was like to be responsible for one’s own child’s death and Kristofer didn’t deserve to ever know that pain; no one did, including the woman who wrongly believed that she had caused their child’s death herself.

He sighed heavily once more as he moved his elbows to the table, running his hands through his hair in some combination of stress and the guilt that was usually plaguing the other half of his previously happy marriage. He once again found himself wracking his brain for the ninth consecutive month, trying to find any way at all to hope that Claire could ever find it in her heart to forgive what he had done. But as each night passed, he lost more and more hope that she would ever forgive him at all. She had already forgiven him for Awsha, and that was a miracle in itself; but this may have just been one hurt too many.

His dark thoughts were interrupted once again, as they had been so often over the fourteen years he had been forced to perform this role that he had never even wanted. A young male servant peered into the meeting room and hesitantly spoke up upon seeing Sean’s obvious distraction. “There’s a visitor who’s been waiting in the foyer for the meeting to end” he told Sean regretfully.

Sean allowed another sigh of frustration, but offered no response other than forcing himself to his feet and starting toward the door the servant waited at. Though Sean appeared like he was heading for a firing squad rather than to simply greet a guest to his home. But that had been his usual expression since losing the comfort of Claire’s warm embraces or even smiles in the past several months.

Once he stepped into the foyer and his eyes fell on his visitor he was floored by that majesty and awe he hadn’t felt the like of in the near decade and a half since Haven’s death. Sean swallowed a lump in his throat as his feet faltered a moment before forcing them to carry him further into the room to greet this tall, dark, handsome visitor.

“Prince Sean, I presume” the man greeted him in that velvet accent of the mother country as he turned to center those blue-gray eyes on the pretty blonde hair, blue eyes, towering height and rail thin frame that most others were affected by anytime they were in Sean’s presence; the way Sean was now obviously affected by this man’s.

“Good evening” Sean managed with a bit more wariness than he had greeted any other guest to his home in recent years. “What can I do for you?” he managed as he attempted to regain some composure in light of the effect the other man had on him.

“Oh, I’m only announcing my presence, just as the rules of the Camarilla require” he added in the same emotionless tone that seemed a constant among most elder Kindred. He then forced a smile as he brushed the brown pony tail behind his shoulder and stepped forward to offer his hand to Sean with the customary politeness. As Sean slowly took his hand, he forced the smile to remain and spoke again, “Thomas Mason, Toreador” he added the last word with a little more sharpness to his tone. Though it was hard for Sean to read that tone or even the man’s aura or thoughts, which was always a worrisome thing.

After another moment Sean released the man’s hand and looked over at where Thomas only stood a mere three inches shorter than Sean himself; furthermore, he appeared to have been in his early thirties at the time of his embrace, just as Sean had been. Sean swallowed again as he forced his eyes to hold the man in his gaze, “I take it you’re older than me?” he managed.

Thomas allowed a wry laugh as he cast a glance around the home before deigning to answer the question that already had an answer which was obvious. “Oh no need to worry, I was only embraced 130 or so years before yourself” he added with the tiniest trace of smugness touching his tone and smile.

Sean’s composure faltered a moment, which Thomas easily noted, as he was most likely reading Sean’s aura and possibly even his thoughts as they spoke. And neither of those facts gave Sean an iota of added comfort. After all, Sean was meant to be the most powerful Kindred in the entire territory, and the one who all others answered to. And that would be an extremely difficult role to continue to convince others of if there was another in his territory that was so obviously stronger and more powerful than Sean.

“So, you were embraced around the same time as my sire?” was the first thing Sean could manage as a way of establishing some sort of common ground.

“A mere four years later, as a matter of fact” Thomas responded with another wry and knowing smile.

That was when Sean looked back quickly at him, “wait, you said Thomas?”

“I did” Thomas agreed in the same slightly smug tone as Sean began putting together the clues to his identity.

“You’re Hollister’s second childe?” Sean stated with only slightly less hesitancy.

“Well, his only childe now” Thomas stated as he again kept any emotion from his tone.

Sean did feel another crack in his composure at that particular response, but tried to convince himself that his newly awakened paranoia was getting to him when he then remembered another fact. “And you’re Daniel’s sire?”

“That I am” Thomas agreed with another smile.

Sean then managed a slight smile, “Daniel and I are very close, or had been at any rate” he added with a bit of sadness to his smile, “so welcome to my territory I suppose” he finished as he tried to hold that smile.

“I’m sure it’ll be an interesting visit” Thomas allowed as he cast another look around the room.

After another moment, Sean spoke up again, almost as though the next thought had just occurred to him, “I suppose I should have my wife show you to…” he then looked back at Thomas once more.

“Show me to what?” Thomas asked in response to Sean’s unfinished sentence.

“I was going to say House Toreador, since she’s the Toreador Primogen, but…” he let his voice trail off once more.

“But?” Thomas pressed, amused by Sean’s obvious difficulty communicating in light of Thomas being so painfully more powerful than he.

“But, I guess if you’re staying for any amount of time… then that would no longer be her role” he admitted quietly, honestly not sure how he felt about that fact.

“Well, Primogen does mean the eldest member of the clan in that territory. Of course, being the same clan, that should be the Prince’s claim. But I guess this is an exception” he added with a bit of bitterness just under the surface of his tone.

“I guess it would be” Sean agreed quietly. “I suppose I can show you to the house instead of bothering Claire with a job that is no longer even going to be hers” he offered in the same quiet tone as he gestured for Thomas to follow him out of the home.

“Special treatment from the Prince himself. How flattering” Thomas returned with a bit of sarcasm to his otherwise pleasing British lilt.

That was when Sean couldn’t help addressing all the little verbal cues that he was easily picking up on, even without the benefit of being able to read Thomas’ aura or thoughts. He looked back at him as they made their way toward the home that had been abandoned for most of the two plus years since Eliza had been killed.

“I can’t help asking something of you Thomas, and I hope not to offend you” Sean began.

“That always seems to preface an interesting sentence; consider my interest piqued” he returned wryly.

“I just find myself wondering why it was that Haven named me his heir if his own brother could have taken the role” Sean dared as he looked back at Thomas who did allow a slightly darker expression for the briefest of moments.

“Haven and I were never very close” Thomas admitted what was already obvious, “and I imagine he thought I would be selected to preside over another territory back in Britain or Europe, as the rest of our line has done; excepting Lemuel’s pretty little childe who journeyed to your lovely homeland instead” he offered the explanation, minimal as it was.

“And I assume that becoming Prince is an idea that appeals to you?” Sean pressed further as the home came into view.

Thomas scoffed slightly, though held his smile, “I assume that role appeals to most Kindred” he offered without truly answering the question.

“It never appealed much to me or Haven, honestly” Sean admitted.

“Well that is a rather novel opinion to have about wanting something that’s already been given to you” Thomas returned with a continually unreadable tone.

“I don’t know if the rest of the Camarilla would agree to make such a change to an already existing Princedom such as this” Sean began as they arrived at the door to the house, “but there are plenty of unclaimed territories surrounding this one. I’m sure I could put your name forth for one of those” Sean offered a compromise of sorts as it was obvious that Thomas had eyes for the throne and he did not need to deal with another fight over that throne with all the other problems he was already dealing with since taking it himself.

“How charitable you are,” Thomas allowed another wry smile, “but it’s been rather too long of a journey to debate politics just now; so I will simply bid you adieu for the night,” Thomas stated in the same emotionless tone as he bowed slightly to Sean and headed into his new home.

After the stress inducing arrival of another Kindred who had eyes for the throne and could quite possibly take it, Sean returned to his own home looking rather somber. Though that had honestly been his mood ever since him and Claire’s latest estrangement. He slowly made his way toward their bedchamber to inform Claire of the change to her status on the council. He knew she had never been all that interested in being Primogen anyway, but considering how distant they had been for nearly a year, he was still quite apprehensive about how she would take the information.

Only upon entering their chambers slightly before midnight, he found Claire absent. He sighed as his eyes turned toward the door to the privy. He hoped that perhaps she was only bathing, but he had a creeping feeling that there was another activity she was indulging in that night. As nearly every night for the last several months, the smell of Nicolas clung to her, only further reinforcing that distance that had grown between them.

He sighed sadly as he debated on simply sitting there and waiting for them to finish their lovemaking, however long that would be. Though he had a feeling that each minute that passed of that wait would be increasingly painful. It was true that her taking her servants as lovers had never bothered him, but it was hard not to feel threatened by it when he was no longer her lover himself. It’s true they still shared a bed, but that was usually only in the daylight hours when neither of them were conscious, let alone enjoying each other’s touch.

He momentarily entertained the thought of interrupting their copulation, but quickly forced that urge away as he remembered the fear Nicolas always had of even being in his presence at all; let alone at a moment when he was making love to Sean’s wife. It was true that he and Nicolas were hardly close and he had every right to interrupt another man pleasuring his wife; at least if their marriage had been anything resembling traditional. But he knew that fracturing Nicolas’ already fragile psyche in such a way would be yet another hurt Claire would not forgive him for; especially after how hard she had already worked to repair it for nearly three long years.

He sighed as he took a seat at Claire’s vanity, his fingers absently moving over her hairbrush. He didn’t particularly relish the idea of waiting out their lovemaking; but nor did he want to deal with any more of his own duties that night either. He sighed as he attempted to find some distraction to his uncomfortable wait on her return. Though his attempt to find that distraction was not as long as he had feared it would be; as it was only about fifteen minutes later when Claire returned to the room through the side door, halting a moment as her eyes fell on Sean still seated there.

“Evening” he greeted her in a terribly sad tone as he couldn’t quite make his eyes come up to take in her still flushed skin under the robe that was now the only thing covering that pale flesh he had been deprived of even the sight of for nearly an entire year.

Claire took a moment as she glanced back at the door behind her before shutting it, “calling it a night a little early, aren’t you?” she asked quietly as she awkwardly moved into the room.

“After you all left the meeting, we had another new Kindred announce himself” Sean began, wanting to get quickly to the point instead of allowing himself any more time to dwell on that distance between them or the fact that others were suffering no such lack of her companionship.

“Is that so?” she returned quietly as she moved to take a seat on the sofa several feet off from where he sat, casting her eyes downward.

“I suppose new isn’t exactly accurate” he added as more of an afterthought, “It’s Daniel’s sire actually.”

“Daniel Denbourough’s sire?” she repeated, looking up only momentarily.

“The same” Sean sighed slightly.

“Hollister’s other childe? Haven’s brother?”

“My uncle” he added to the list with a shake of his head, “I showed him to the Toreador house already” he added more quietly.

“Wasn’t that my job?” she asked, matching his own low volume.

That was when Sean sighed again, “actually it isn’t; not anymore.”

“Pardon?”

“Thomas was embraced only four years after Haven. That makes him the oldest Toreador in my territory now; over 150 years older than either you or I, even” he added with an ever more apparent drop in volume.

Claire was silenced for a moment as she processed the ramifications before she just had to ask Sean for his opinion on such, “is that going to be a problem?”

“Well, I don’t exactly have any good feelings about it” Sean admitted with another worried sigh.