Chapter Eight

Choice or Fate

Karou was sucking the remnants of her meal from her lips when he gave his excuse. She gasped. Whipping her head around to look him in the eyes, Karou asked, “Trial? What trial? You’re on trial? On trial for what?”

He couldn’t help the smile that pulled at the corner of his lips; her wide-eyed dismay somehow made her eyes look more beautiful. They were impossibly blue.

“I’m sure it’ll be over soon.” He stepped away and toward the door, collected his cufflink and held in his teeth while he went about unrolling his sleeve. “But for now, they’re deciding my fate...” Warren mumbled through his teeth.

As he turned his back to the door and looked back at her, Karou reached for his sleeve. “Wait…” Though it wasn’t hard enough to pull him back to her, it was enough to stop him. “I saw you,” she said, and her eyes filled with faint tears, “A month back, I had a dream, I saw you. You were in Blue Ash. You were dying. I-... don’t understand - how are you here?” As if the taste of his blood had not been enough, she ran her hands up and down his arms briefly, not really aware of what that might have done to him. Sometimes, she had dreams and woke up with that same bittersweet taste on her tongue that now lingered on her lips. “There was Florence, and things… happened, but then I left, and nothing else happened. I never saw you again.”

“We didn’t promise to see each other again, Karou.”

“I know. We said we’d leave it to fate. I remember. But now… Now you’re here.” She released him slowly, each fingertip uncurling from the fabric of his shirt one at a time.

Silently he watched her face, taking in her features, admiring every perfect line her features made, how her hair fell into place, her eyes, her nose and her lips as she spoke. It was hard to bear how she looked - like she might start to cry or completely disappear within herself when she retracted her hands from him.

His own expression was that of complete concern. Karou seemed utterly flustered and confused; it made his chest ache, and a sudden inexplicable craving came over him. He ached to close the distance between them and comfort her - to wrap her up in his arms and not let her go.

As she’d withdrawn her hands from him, he’d watched his own move up to her face. He gently set a curled index finger under her chin. When he touched her face, Karou’s hand rose up; her fingertips touched the back of his hand to receive the tender gesture.

“Yes. I’m here…” Warren grinned as a breathy plea escaped his lips. “For now… But they’re charging me for trafficking celestials.” He jerked his head back toward the door, eliciting the court and rolled his icy blue eyes at its absurdity.

“What? That’s ridiculous!” Karou agreed with his sentiment and shook her head in frustration. It was all so much to take in and upsetting to boot. She stood there fighting the urge to do as she always had when she was upset and in his company - hide her face away against his chest, nestle herself into his arms and take shelter. Suddenly, her eyes grew very distant. Anger boiled inside her. She never thought that they would actually try and persecute him simply because he was the one who made her vamperic and also because he was, possibly, the only one who could ever persuade her to leave Enoch.

“How sly that they didn’t even tell me you were here. I should be in there. I should go in there with you. I can fix this...”

There came a rise of voices from behind the door. One of them was Alessandra, who seemed to be yelling, which was unusual for the normally quiet mannered girl.

“Alessandra found me; when you beseiged Davikov Castle. Cassandra wanted to tell you. Alessandra didn’t. Sibling rivalry, it’s rather adorable.” Warren cracked another grin as he moved his fingers from her chin and stroked them over her cheek, hesitantly, as she looked to the floor.

“Alice would never hide anything from me,” Karou said, looking left and right in confusion.

“I don’t know about that, but I know she’s stalled to give herself time to think things through, though not out of spite. You’ve done well having such beautiful daughters. They haven’t-…”

“But… my dream,” Karou explained her confusion aloud, even if it interrupted Warren. “She must have known. She must have felt how scared I was when I thought you’d died.”

“… left me alone for five days...” Indeed, her admission interrupted him.

Now he shifted his hand to cup her cheek. “Why were you scared?” He lent an ear to the commotion behind the door - it broke his train of thought, to which he bit onto his lower lip. “Karou… I don’t know how much longer I can stay out here, but listen and don’t fret - I don’t need you to fix this. I’m a Lawyer, remember? They don’t have a case. There’s no evidence, no witnesses, no bodies. The only celestial I’ve ever had my hands on is you.”

Despite knowing that he was right - he was more than capable of getting himself out of this mess; she still didn’t want to leave him alone in there. She knew how brutal they could be and how they made everything such a big deal.

With the softest sigh, she finally met his gaze straight on and tried to hold it for as long as he would let her. “Alright, but will you come see me? Tonight? I can send a guard to bring you to my room... That’s if you want to? We can talk more then.”

“I’ll come and see you if you’d like. Aren’t you concerned about people finding out, though? Least of all, your daughters - they’re rather a nosy pair. What would you like to talk about?” Extending his hand from her cheek, he disturbed her fingers on his hand only slightly as she brushed her hair back behind her ear, and then in a fluid motion, his hand ran down her neck, and then his fingers came to rest under her chin once more.

Another raucous shout echoed through the door.

“It sounds like a circus in there. I should get going.” Warren took hold of her fingers and pressed his lips to the back of her hand as he stared into her eyes to sate her uncertainty. “I’ll see you later.”

With that, Warren dropped his hand from hers. He backed up against the double doors until he’d disappeared through the gap he’d created, all the while keeping his eyes on hers.

Karou watched him leave, frozen in her place and still mesmerized by the fact that he was there. She caught a glimpse of Alice through the doors, who met her gaze and gestured for her to leave. Taking the hint, Karou returned to her room to process everything.

He strode back to his seat in much the same manner as he’d entered, although jacket-less and with his left sleeve curiously uncuffed, unbuttoned, and half rolled up his forearm. If anyone had looked closely enough, they would have spotted two small and freshly healed bite scars where Karou’s fangs as been moments before.

Between the members of the court, there was some debate going on. It seemed to be one side of the table versus the other; those in agreement with the sister’s argument were leaning offensively forward. The others, who were mostly older, were shaking their heads disapprovingly.

“It’s simply not a good idea,” Callida said.

“She. Is. My. Mother!” Cassandra shouted. When she yelled, she seemed to emit tiny sparks of heavenly fire. In fact, the whole room was hot, all because she was radiating pyro-kinetic power. “I don’t care about what you people think is best. I’m trying to keep her alive! Healthy and happy, Goddamnit! Because you people already managed to murder one of my parents - I’m not about to let that happen again!” When she lunged forward, ready to strike at the nearest person, Alessandra grabbed her sister by the shoulders and reeled her in.

Then, in a frighteningly calm voice, Alessandra spoke, “She is your Queen. Not some prisoner, nor some puppet that you can control.”

Dead silence fell over the room once again when Warren entered. While waiting for the back and forth to quiet down, he went about inspecting the fresh scars on the inner side of his wrist with his newly darkened eyes.

Pausing upside his chair, he began to roll down his sleeve; careless as to whether anyone might notice, he looked up between the two opposing groups. “I do hope I’m not interrupting...” feigning innocence Warren buttoned his sleeve and flashed a smile.

Amidst the petty bickering, Cambria Morningstar rose from her seat with a palpable sense of authority and levelled her gaze onto the others in the room. “Enough!” she said, banging her hand on the table. “It seems emotions have gotten in the way of what we are trying to accomplish here. The meeting is adjourned. We will meet again at a later time.” Her green serpentine eyes settled on Warren. They glared at each other with equal contempt. “Someone see Mr Howard back to his room. The rest of you, go about your business as usual.”

Near midnight, Alessandra snook over to the guest’s tower on a mission. The peaceful and quiet Palace library is where she’d whiled away her afternoon, reading and relaxing after the stressful and eventful court meeting earlier that morning.

On the way to her bedroom, sleepy and with a book in her arms, she came across a guard. They’d looked at each other curiously; they were both wandering around after the corridor curfew. To deflect away from her mildly unruly behaviour, she’d asked the man what his business was. It turned out that he was the guard charged with the task of fetching a prisoner to the Queen’s quarters. Alice had dismissed him from his mission. She insisted that it wouldn’t be necessary because the Queen was not expecting any visitors late into the night. Once the relieved but slightly confused guard had turned about and marched off to his post, Alice sighed, feeling like she’d saved her mother a mischief. She couldn’t believe that her mother had been so careless as to let any old guard carry out such a task! How did she know that that particular guard could be trusted with such delicate information? - He could have spread illicit rumours about her! Having a male vampire brought to her room appeared highly suspicious, there needed to be no exaggeration or flourishes made to make the tale gossip-worthy.

It didn’t take her many moments to suppose that she’d have to take up the task herself. Striding down the corridor with long, purposeful steps, she promptly arrived at Warren’s room. Unsure whether he was expecting a visit, she knocked loudly three times before opening the door a crack to peer into the room.

She found the room cloaked in semi-darkness. The curtains weren’t drawn, so the moonlight teamed in to illuminate the space. Dusk had fallen, but the heat of the day still warmed the room, seeing as the window he’d broken by earlier that day remained open and glassless.

“Warren?” Alice called his name out into the room quietly.

She could see Warren’s form laid in utter stillness on the top of the sheets of his made bed. He’d taken off his suit jacket, waistcoat, and tie and rolled his sleeves to his elbows. His button-down flailed open down to his navel as he seemed to be sleeping; his eyes were closed.

“Are you asleep?” She crept nearer, shutting the door as gently as possible so as not to disturb him,

Still, no sooner had Alessandra entered Warren had stirred from his light sleep. Having already committed her voice and scent to memory, he didn’t spook as he knew who had joined him in this room. To answer her calling his name, he groaned sleepily.

“Hmm. What is it?” Still recovering from how much Karou’s unexpected feed had left him fatigued and drained, he did not attempt to move just yet.

The sight of him sprawled out on bed didn’t seem to affect her despite his sleepy aura as she moved nearer to him, though she did blush as her mother might have. “Should I tell my mother you’re too tired for a visit tonight? I’m sure she’ll understand.”

Instead of answering her right away, he patted the bed, an invite for her to move closer toward him. “No, no, I’m awake. I was just sleeping off the feed. Is she feeling better for it?”

Accepting his request, Alice fearlessly perched on the very edge of the bed.

Then, he sat upright, inhaling a deep breath in the hopes of waking himself up. Alice’s scent was somewhat jarring as it filled his lungs. He couldn’t help but comment on her natural scent's qualities when he was so overcome by it. He coughed to clear his throat and said, “Your scent is very… pure.”

Yes, everyone thinks I’m pure… Alice thought bitterly, fighting not to roll her eyes. She knew he hadn’t meant in the way most would. He wasn’t mocking her.

“Yet I don’t feel that you actually want to bite me.” She smiled. Toying with the end of her braid with one hand, she mused, “I could feel how much you thirsted after my mother earlier. When she entered the room, you couldn’t stop yourself from breathing her in.”

Warren found her view on what he’d always felt was a shameful addiction enlightening. “You’re right. For some reason, I’m not as drawn to other celestial scents.” Warren combed his fingers back through his hair and scratched his head. “Before now, I’d never realised that though it’d always troubled me-…”

Her lips peaked up into a half-smirk - the slightly ruffled state of the back of his head from lying on it was amusingly out of place on such an otherwise neat-looking man. “Mhmm. Warren, I don’t want to seem rude, but… you’re not very adept at understanding your emotions, are you?” Alice tipped her head to the side, very much like her mother might’ve.

He scowled, not liking how personal the topic of conversation had gotten so rapidly.

“It’s just that I know some of how my mother feels about you, and given the state that she finds herself in at the moment, I can’t risk taking you to see her if you’re going to hurt her.”

“I’d never hurt her. Don’t you feel that?”

“Yes. I know you’d never intentionally hurt her, and I know you never expected to be here, so it’s understandably confusing. It would be for anyone. Still, I can’t leave you alone with my emotionally raw mother if your own feelings aren’t clear to you. I can’t let you hurt her again.”

“My hot and cold moods have hurt her before; that’s what you’re getting at?” He sighed, defeated by what Alessandra said because she was right. Standing upright, gingerly on his bad leg, he proceeded to button up his shirt. Curling his bare toes into the carpet a moment, he glanced back toward the broken window and the night outside of it. “Has she mentioned what she wants to see me for?” Warren inquired, “It was all a bit rushed earlier; her arrival was a surprise to us all. No?”

“Granted, she wasn’t supposed to be there for another two hours. Sometimes she comes early because she likes to get settled in and get herself organised, but she was busy writing letters when I left her just before the meeting.” She shook her head, unable to explain why Karou had arrived when she did. “She didn’t say what she wanted you for, no. I think Cassandra wanted to be the one to bring you to her, but she had other priorities tonight.” She made a drinking motion with one hand and purposefully didn’t mention that she’d stolen the job from a guard herself. “Either way, she seemed very anxious. It certainly puts my nerves on edge… But she looks healthier now, that’s for sure. Much less haunted, so thank you for that.” Instigating their exit, Alice strode toward the door and held it open for him, ready to lead him to the more private part of the Palace where Karou, the Queen, resided.

“It’s amusing that both you and your sister have taken such a curious interest in the estranged relationship between your mother and me. Well, I say amusing, more endearing. What’s so interesting, though?” Warren wandered towards the door after Alessandra, and as any gentlemen would, he paused, politely refusing to exit first. “Ladies first...” He muttered.

“I can’t speak for Cassandra on these matters - our minds are very different in most senses, though we both have ultimately the same idea in mind. We want her to be happy. If she’s happy, we’re happy. If we are happy collectively, our family feels a little less broken.”

“She isn’t happy?”

“She’d lie if you asked her, but no. She hasn’t been since Cassandra’s father died.” Alice remarked while leading him down the tower’s steps and around the corner. They were on their way toward the central part of the Palace. She motioned for him to continue following her instead of going up the steps that would have led to the rooms customarily reserved for Enoch’s current monarch. Karou had asked for different rooms upon her coronation.

“That’s understandable.”

“Yes, wives are supposed to grieve their husbands.” This was all Alice dared say on the matter. Even as a child, Alice couldn’t recall a time when her mother had felt a wash of emotion towards Remus like she had in the brief moment she realised Warren was standing before her at court earlier that day.

“Hmm, yes…” Warren agreed, sensing that there was perhaps more Alessandra had wanted to say, but he wouldn’t probe. Just as he felt it wasn’t her place to poke around in Karou’s business as her daughter, he also didn’t want to listen to too much gossip about his Fledgeling from her daughters. He would rather take Karou as he found her.

“Speaking on the topic of happiness, I was disappointed to find her so malnourished. Do your courts’ people not see her thirst as an important matter? How can she be happy when her thirst is so distracting.” Warren massaged his fingertips over the fresh scars on his wrists’ inner sides as he made his speech. Karou had been so eager; the pits which she had made were still deep. “I realise that perhaps you care more than most, but...” He exhaled a sigh. “Forgive me for being bold; it’s just a... Sire’s instinct...”

“The Court sees that so long as her vampiricy is kept under wraps, they can maintain the image that Enoch is ruled by a celestial, as it has always been, for thousands of years. This is the first time a hybrid of any kind has held any power here, and many of the city's older citizens wouldn’t think she’s fit to rule simply because she’s partially vamperic.”

Alessandra came to a stop in front of a large set of double doors. Reaching into the pocket of the long, casual cream cardigan she wore, she pulled out an old looking key. Unlocking the doors, she continued speaking, “Many people have never seen her with blue eyes, you know. When I was little, I thought her eyes were naturally black until... well, you know.” The doors swung open, and she led him towards a narrow staircase that led into another tower.

“Hmm. Maybe if her public and court knew the truth of their Queens humble beginnings, they’d appreciate that she wouldn’t be alive to be their monarch if I hadn’t taken her in after she’d run away from her parents.” Warren noted.

“She never talks about her childhood.” Alessandra stopped on the staircase and half turned to look at him.

“Naturally, it’s quite an upsetting topic for her.”

“Why did you take her in?”

“I still ask myself that that question. I wish I had an answer for you.”

“Do you know why you Sired her then?” For as long as Alessandra could remember knowing about her mother’s Sire, she had wanted to understand why and how it came to be that Warren sired her in the first place.

“Yes. I think I do. After a great deal of time to reflect, I’ve come to a few conclusions.” Warren nodded. Alessandra’s curious grey eyes widened, begging for knowledge. “The truth doesn’t look well on either I or your mother, Alessandra. I’m not sure my intentions were pure. I have regretted my decision for a long time…” He paused before he seamlessly steered the conversation back towards its origin; they’d gotten sidetracked somewhere. “…but it’s hardly fair for her Court to condemn her for a fault that is mine. Then again, I am no stranger to the strange logic of politicians.”

Taking in his surroundings all while following Alessandra, it occurred to him that he’d been led deeper and deeper into the Palace. They found themselves stalled on a desolate stairwell where anything could happen in secret. It left him feeling oddly more curious about his situation. However, it instilled no fear in him. “This seems to be a rather secluded spot. Is there a reason for that?”

She chuckled when she heard the slight tinge of distrust in his voice. She looked over her shoulder at him with a reassuring nod. “Trust me; if we were going somewhere dangerous, I wouldn’t be the one to take you. That’d be bad for both of us... When my mother first came here, she felt very lonely in the vast rooms they put her in. So, she asked to be moved. She was offered the quaint chambers at the top of this tower instead. It’s where she’s remained ever since.”

When Alessandra came to the very top of the stairs, they stopped before wooden double doors. In the centre of each door, the city of Enoch’s crest was painted in gold paint onto the varnished surface. “Here we are,” she said. Before she knocked or even came close to touching the door, she tipped her head to the side and asked, “Can I trust you?”

“I have a biased opinion on that matter. Ask anyone that knows me, and they’ll tell you, you probably shouldn’t. The question really lies with you; do you want to trust me?” Warren leaned on the wall to his right again, still facing her on the stairwell. He flashed her a curious grin as he folded his forearms over his chest.

“Just don’t do anything that will jeopardise my mother’s reputation; that’s all I’m asking.” She knocked three times before he could respond.

Seeing as her mother hadn’t known she would be the one to bring Warren up to her room, she darted off down the steps before she could be seen, which left Warren there alone, loitering before the Queen of Enoch’s bedroom door.