When Sean returned to their bedroom before dawn, he found Claire sitting thoughtfully in bed. She was wearing one of those long, sheer nightdresses that left very little to the imagination. Though as long as it had been since the two had been close, imagination was what Sean had had to settle for longer than he cared to admit now. It took him more than a moment to pull his eyes away from her as he softly shut the door behind him and made his feet carry him toward the bed. Neither offering much in the way of a verbal greeting just yet, Sean took his seat at the edge of their bed to reach down to remove his boots.

Upon completing that task he took another moment’s pause before moving to slide back against the headboard next to where Claire still sat quietly. As he moved closer Claire gently lifted the sheet that had been pulled up to her waist to allow him to slide under it with her as well. As simple as that gesture was, Sean couldn’t help the slight smile at the mere fact that she had made it.

That was when Sean had to speak up, awkwardly wrapping his arms around his chest rather than reaching to place one around her, “hope I wasn’t interrupting any deep thoughts” he stated hoarsely, making another weak attempt at a smile.

“Are there any other kind?” Claire asked, though she did smile back despite not being quite able to look directly back at him even though they were almost close enough to be touching then.

“I suppose none that count” he agreed with an even weaker attempt at a chuckle.

That was when Claire appeared to brace herself before making a further attempt at conversation in the half hour or so that they still had until sunrise, “so you’ve got one of Britain’s own royal advisors now, huh? Not many Princes can claim that, I’m sure.”

Sean then made a more successful attempt at a smile, “most other Princes aren’t Toreadors, aside from our line; not many of them would be inventive enough to use ‘services rendered’ as a valid payment option to procure such council.”

Claire raised her brow a moment as she surprisingly decided to give into Sean’s attempt at lightness, “oh is that what you have been doing locked up with him in your office all night?”

Sean couldn’t help a small chuckle then, “just the council part; the services rendered were paid years ago. I believe he owes you some of his valuable advice too if I recall correctly.”

Claire did manage a smile, though there was sadness to it, as there always seemed to be. She then gave in to a slight subject change, “so has he actually given you some valuable advice then?”

“Are you asking as my Primogen or my wife?” Sean had to ask as he watched for her reaction.

There was a slight tension in her at the reminder that she was indeed still his wife even if it hadn’t felt as though it were so for years now. She swallowed slightly and forced another smile to her lips as she answered, “either I suppose.”

“Well, speaking to my Primogen, I can tell you that he’s actually found a couple possible solutions to some of our problems of the present and future as well as the past” Sean informed, trying to ignore that tension he had seen in her at the mere reference to their relationship.

“These I’ve got to hear” Claire returned, her tension only lessening slightly as he allowed their conversation to remain more professional than personal, as true as that even could be when sitting atop a bed with a man who had been one’s lover for more than two centuries.

“He’s suggested a very inventive, if expensive, solution to any recurrence of the werewolf problem” Sean offered.

“Other than the armory full of silver?” Claire had to ask.

“Daniel did point out that if we had to get to the armory at all, chances are they’d already be too close for it to matter much” Sean stated.

“That sounds like more of an additional problem, not a solution” Claire stated as she narrowed her eyes.

“Which is why he offered the other suggestion” Sean attempted another smile.

“The inventive and expensive one?” Claire stated, still looking unsure.

“Yes” another slight smile as Sean further explained, “silver based paint covering all the walls, silver plating on the gates.”

Claire paused a moment as she slowly nodded her head, “does sound very expensive.”

“Not like we have much else to do with all the money I’ve somehow acquired; quite the feat for a former artist” he added more quietly.

Claire was caught by the sadness to the second portion of his statement though, and couldn’t help responding, “former?”

“Not like I’ve had any time for much art or creativity at all in the last twenty-six years, is it?” Sean admitted in the same quiet tone.

“You could try to make time though” Claire stated with her own sadness at the fact that he had already seemed to accept giving up something that had practically defined him for all of the two hundred plus years that she had known him.

“Not really” Sean stated with a slight scoff, “art is something that you have to be able to plan and think on and then act on the idea or inspiration the moment it hits you. It doesn’t exactly mesh with ruling an entire territory on a nightly basis” he finished with the same touch of defeat to his tone.

“But…” Claire attempted, though she honestly could find no counter-argument to his points, sad as that was for both of them.

Sean then took a moment to push away that sadness and force himself back to the original subject instead of dwelling on one of the many things he had no control over, “and my handsome new advisor also has come up with a solution that might just solve a mystery that has been plaguing us since I first became Prince.”

“What mystery would that be?” Claire asked as she looked up at him.

“Who really was behind Haven’s death” Sean stated quietly, and almost immediately regretted the words as nothing short of pure panic crossed over her pretty face, “Ok, and you look like you just saw his ghost” Sean stated worriedly as he kept his eyes on her.

“How?” Claire managed to choke out as her only response.

“You look so terrified Claire. You were asleep in my arms when he died; I’m pretty sure you’re not a suspect or anything” he assured her, still confused by her reaction.

“How can you find out who really did it?” Claire replied, her voice still shaking, her eyes still scared.

Sean shook his head in further confusion at her particular reaction, but made himself answer, “he suggested that I use the same method that I employed to find out who was behind the massacre at Raven’s Loft.”

“What?” Claire asked with confusion then joining the other emotions on her face.

“We can dig up the bones, touch them, and find out who put out the kill order on Haven” he stated simply, though still watched her worriedly, “it could actually work. I kind of feel like I should have thought…” but the way she quickly looked away with even further fear, sniffling a bit as she did, threw Sean further. “Ok Claire, seriously; why do you seem scared to death of us finally knowing what happened?”

“You really don’t understand why this… doing this… how horrible it could really be to finally know?” she whispered, her voice barely breaking the surface.

“Claire…” he began, trying as hard as he could to not give into the urge to reach out and offer her some kind of comfort.

“Don’t you get it, Sean?” she asked as she looked back at him with another whimper, “if you do this and find out that it really was Awsha behind it… then…” that was when she had to look away again as her reason then struck Sean hard as his expression saddened just as much as hers did.

Sean was silenced for a long moment as he tried to find the words to comfort her, “but if we find out that it actually wasn’t Awsha…”

“Then we have a shiny new threat we didn’t even know about” Claire finished bitterly.

“But it will also prove the prophecy wrong. Wouldn’t that be worth it to know that it doesn’t have to come true after all?” Sean pointed out, desperately trying to convince both of them of the possibility of that being the truth they find.

“But if it was Awsha, and we finally get proof of that… that proves that we’ll never be able to fight this prophecy at all. That proves that not only is she still out there, but that Baron probably is too; he’s the snake after all… and we know what that means is going to happen to me” she sniffled again, “getting that answer may as well be the same as guaranteeing my death.”

“The prophecy doesn’t exactly say that…”

“Sean” Claire looked back at him with another look of despair.

“But it could do the opposite too, Claire. It could finally prove that you’re safe, finally” Sean attempted to assure her of the possibility of that outcome, “and you can’t say that you want to spend another however many years just wondering if it’s true or not; if it’s going to actually happen or not. That’s been making both of us crazy for almost a century and a half. Don’t you want to stop always having to wonder, and never knowing for sure?”

“If it wasn’t Awsha, then we’ll just have to live in fear of whatever threat it was instead. If it was Awsha, then I lose whatever hope I could still manage to delude myself into having. I don’t think that sounds too sane either” Claire finished, choking back her emotions as best as she even still could.

Sean was quiet for another long moment as he thought on all her worries and fears. Finally, after what seemed like ages, he spoke again, “I need to know the truth, Claire. I need to know for sure who killed him and did this to us. I need to know that I’m not going to ever be caught unaware by her, or Baron, ever again. I have to know these things. I can’t go on not knowing what threats there really are just waiting for us out there. I need to know” he stressed, “but if you don’t want to know what I find out… then I suppose I could just not tell you. If that’s what you really want” he offered sadly.

“Please Sean” she just shook her head, “I’m not a mind reader, but I’ll still know the second I look at you. I’ll see it written all over you; either the joy or the despair. It’ll be right there screaming at me the moment you know for sure, then I’ll know too” she sniffled again. Though there was no time for either of them to say more as the sun came up over the horizon outside and forced that deathlike slumber upon both of them once more.

The following evening, Sean and Daniel silently watched as the remains of one of Haven’s killers were re-buried. When the last bit of dirt was thrown back onto the grave Sean finally pulled his eyes away long enough to note Daniel staring at him expectantly. That was when Daniel finally had to break the silence, “well obviously you saw something, so it worked, right?”

“Yeah, it worked” Sean agreed quietly as he moved his eyes over the area surrounding the paupers’ graveyard that the murderers had been buried in; and even giving them that much respect had been a tough call to make back on the night that Sean had inherited the throne.

“And, was it the suspect you had in mind back then?” Daniel pressed as Sean began moving back toward their horses and he hurried to follow.

“I just don’t understand why she waited almost twenty years after we attacked them” Sean shook his head as they mounted.

“Needed time to rebuild and wait for an opportunity?” Daniel offered as he got onto his own mount, “or just overly reverent of that saying about revenge being best served cold and all?” he added with another sigh as Sean was already pushing his horse into motion.

“And now it’s been another twenty-six years but we haven’t heard from them at all” Sean stated a moment later.

Daniel just shook his head, “I’m guessing they found some other poor souls to wreak havoc on.”

“Yeah, the unclaimed territory north of us is where I’m guessing they are. Around that time we had a new Kindred who came here because of attacks there drawing attention to our kind” Sean sighed heavily as the horses carried them back down the beach under the December sky.

“So I am a good guesser” Daniel attempted a smile, though Sean’s expression and demeanor remained melancholic, “ok, I have to ask; why is it that you seem rather upset by finally finding out who murdered you sire, after twenty-six long years?”

“For one thing, that means that your battleship didn’t get rid of them after all” Sean stated with another sigh.

“It did chase them out of your territory though; small win” Daniel pointed out, “and why else?”

“Pardon?” Sean returned, only looking over at his riding companion briefly.

“You said ‘for one thing’” Daniel returned questioningly.

Sean sighed as he turned his eyes back to the beach in front of him, “for another thing, this also means that my own vampiric sister is the one who killed our sire, after all” he finished quietly.

“She has always been a bit of a problem though, hasn’t she?” Daniel replied, though he spoke quietly then as well, knowing it must be akin to his own feelings of disgust at learning of the things his own sire had done to the very man he spoke to, his wife, and his new brother who he’d barely even had a chance to speak with at all yet.

“That’s an understatement” Sean mumbled.

“So, I can’t help sensing that this dark cloud around the answer to this mystery has some other ramification you aren’t mentioning for some reason” Daniel stated warily.

“So you are strong enough to read me now?”

“Only your aura and it is screaming right now” Daniel stated in the same sympathetic yet curious tone.

“There was a prophecy that the daughter would murder the father” Sean sighed, “and I just proved that prophecy right tonight” he added in a broken whisper.

That was when Daniel looked over at him quickly as the walls finally came into view. Then he seemed to have to force his own courage to ask his next question, “would this be the same prophecy about snakes doing very unpleasant things to a certain beauty we both know very well?”

Sean seemed a bit thrown by Daniel having known about that damning prophecy, but he made himself answer, nonetheless, “that would be the one” Sean admitted, though his words felt just as strangled as his heart at that moment.