Chapter Thirteen

My Mother's Sire

“Cass!” Alice interjected and slapped her sister's arm to scold her. “That is not our business. She's our mother!”

“Yes, it is. It's our business because she’s our mother!”

Warren chuckled, amused by the sudden raw outburst. “You know it doesn't matter how many times you ask; you'll get the same answer, Cassandra,”

The girls quit their squabbling. Alice looked over at him bashfully, about to apologise on Cassandra's behalf, but the younger sister straightened out her posture and took a stance. “I think we've got a right to know how having you here will affect our mom's life because it will affect ours too.”

“Sounds like you want her to be happy but only on terms you’re on board with?” Warren accused.

“We’re sorry that it comes across that way.” Alessandra could see how their meddling was unhealthy now. She nodded in acceptance; they should stop asking questions. Standing from the couch, she reached for her sister, “Come on, Cass. We’ve kept Warren long enough; I’m sure he has better things to do.”

“I’m her Sire... Mostly... That's all there really is to say, and it's something that you, unfortunately, can’t understand.”

Cassandra looked at a loss and met her sister's eyes with a sigh. They'd heard it all before, just as he'd promised; his answer was indeed the same. It was frustrating that he was right on his second count, too - they had no idea what that actually meant. Their combined vamperic knowledge was quite limited. They knew only one vampire well, other than their mother, yet neither of the girls dared ask him any prying questions.

Alice had taken as many books from Blue Ash's library as possible, but she still hadn't translated enough of their text to glean anything from them, that's even if there was anything useful stored in the copious volumes.

All Karou's daughters wanted was to understand her better!

Still, at least, now that they knew he was going to stay, they could hang their hopes on their mother's melancholy passing. Surely, having Warren close again would lift her out of her slump one way or another.

Watching the girl's shoulder sink in unison along with their mood caused Warren to sigh. An idea came to him.

“Although I may be wrong now that I think about it. Alessandra? Perhaps you understand more than you think? Though, sometimes even I don't...” He referred to Alessandra’s empathy skills and his own deficit in understanding his feelings.

They’d been ready to leave but halted now that the conversation continued to flow.

“I only know what I picked up on from your meeting in Court yesterday. It was quite unlike anything I have experienced before.” She supposed.

“You felt something?!” Cassandra asked, intrigued; she angled her body towards her sister and grabbed her arm by way of pleading for her to share.

“It was a very pleasant feeling. I can’t really describe it with words – it was complex - layered.” Alice spoke slowly, trying to recall. She had liked it, that much she could easily remember. How profound the feeling of security had felt when it washed over her. That sensation was strong enough to have taken her feet from beneath her; fortunately, she’d been sitting.

Cass didn’t quite get it but took her word for it. “So… is it like best friends or something?”

Warren almost couldn’t believe Cassandra’s words, Alice neither. They both looked at her dumbfounded.

“No... No, nothing like that.” Warren shook his head. “It's so much more than that. More than best friends or sibling bonds. More than parental love or even sexual infatuation. But yes, it is good - too good to believe. She weaved herself into me and got under my skin and that was before I’d even sired her. Afterwards, she was a part of me both physically and mentally. I can still hear her thoughts from miles away, like a whisper. Her ever-presence inside my mind is a curse and comfort. There’s a constant feeling of company.” His words were beautiful, idealistic and fantastical, and the sisters shared in the dream until his tone sunk into a solemn hum.

Warren glared into his lap and continued, “It means totally understanding someone else, so much so that sometimes you fight because you know too much of what goes on in the other's mind.” He paused. “When someone you love is bad on the inside, and you know it, it’s painful. Even if they stay, you push them away for fear of hurting them more. So you deny them of yourself and make them contemplate leaving. When they inevitably try and tear themselves away, you hold on. You hold on so tightly that you think you’ll both break them, and you’ll shatter under the pressure too. It’s impossible to let go. Not when you’ve become entirely committed to them that you’re convinced you’d die without them. When they’re gone, you can still feel them where they used to be, still hear them where they used to think and speak, but you’re left raw and alone.”

Alessandra, eager to know more and understand on a deeper level, leaned forward to listen. It amazed her that a simple infection and transformation could have that much effect on two people. Secretly, she wanted her mother in the same room as him again so she could re-experience the pull she’d felt between them. That way, she might be able to feel what they both felt and gain a better grasp of her vamperic heritage. A part of her also wondered if that was what true love felt like. If it was, then she prayed she’d find something like it someday.

“Is that what it was like when you were apart?” Alice asked delicately.

Warren nodded.

“So, it’s… I mean, you love her then?” Cassandra interjected, equally intrigued.

He wasn't sure that simple explanation accurately cut it, and the way Alice's nose wrinkled showed that she didn't think so either. “It took me a long time to admit that I loved her, even to myself. There was a lot of back and forth. After she left, I resigned myself to my feelings; that was the first step to grieving the loss.”

Cassandra continued that train of thought with a bold question, “So, I don’t get why you aren’t like, together?” Once again, Alice smacked Cassandra in the arm, who returned with a look to say, ‘What? Why can’t I ask that?’

To answer Cassandra’s innocent question, Warren explained, “Our lives were always destined to take different routes.” It stood to reason that Karou had never justified to her daughters why she separated from him and made her life in Enoch if she never talked about her past. “Look, I know you’re interested in your mother’s past, but it’s not my place to discuss something with you that she might want to keep private for a reason. Take what I say now, and please, stop asking me questions about your mother and me, alright?” Warren nodded at both the girls.

Alice nodded in agreement. Cassandra also nodded after a moment of indecision; the look Alice shot her ultimately made her agree. Warren was being reasonable, so they couldn’t refuse while remaining polite.

Warren then told a brief tale - one that explained that during the time Karou lived with him, the Compound had become increasingly unsafe. After Karou’s emergence out of dormancy, Cambria had appeared and made a clear case that due to her heritage, Karou would be able to make a better life for herself in Enoch, around other celestials. Warren doubted the quality of life she could have with him, and so he’d reluctantly let her go in the hopes that Karou would go on to live a full and happy life.

Alessandra rested her elbow on the arm of the sofa and cradled her chin in her hand. There was some familiar, far off look in her eyes just before speaking again. “It always felt like she felt you’d sent her away…”

“I suppose I did. I subjected her to a life without me even though I knew that that wasn’t what she wanted. I always assumed that there was no place for a vampire like me in Enoch. Perhaps there still isn’t. That said, I’ll do my utmost to make it possible for me to stay awhile, but not if it risks the life Karou has built here in any way.”

“I pray that you can make it work for my mother’s sake, Warren. I really do because we’ve run out of ideas to try and make her happy.” Alice said solemnly.

“I mean, we’re scraping the barrel when it comes to ideas, but I don’t think we’re all out yet.” Cassandra disagreed. “What if she sire’s the human you found in Russia?

“What will happen if our mom does Sire that human? I keep sensing her uncertainty - like she wants to have someone around, but at the same time, she isn’t sure what will happen next or what the consequences might be.” Alice said.

“I like Alexei. He’s kinda cool and good-looking, not at all mom’s type, but I wouldn’t mind having him around.” Cass shrugged. Alice's eyes rolled for the millionth time.

“I can’t really speak on that. It’s ultimately her decision to make. Of course, though, if she were to become a Sire herself, things would undoubtedly change.” Warren nodded at his own statement. The thought of Karou Siring someone had once seemed like a good idea to Warren, but he had envisaged it happening after he was gone from this life or at the very least not close at hand. His possessive streak caused him to ponder on things too much, edging on paranoia, so now he imagined all the worst-case scenarios - they all ended with him being cut out of the picture. “Any more questions?” Clearing his throat, he brushed his tormented thoughts away.

Alessandra could feel Warren’s reservations, perhaps even a little of his jealousy, which seemed to answer whether or not he approved. It validated her feelings - she didn’t want her mother Siring anyone either. She didn’t want another member of their family in that way. After everything they had been through, the three of them, it seemed like the chances it would bring more harm than help were very high. Their little family was fragile. It scared her to think that something small could tear them apart.

Alessandra stared down at her feet, lost in her thoughts, but Cass quickly filled the silence. “Do you have any questions for us?” Cassandra piped up.

“Not really. Other than to ask if you’re sure you want me to stay?” Warren stared forward at Alessandra, his eyes seeking hers for some honesty.

“No.” She answered too quickly. Stunned, she took a seat back down on the couch and reigned herself back in. Alessandra, like Warren, wasn’t very good at putting her own emotions into words. A pained emotion came over her face like she was facing some severe moral crisis. Cassandra could see it, so she reached out to loop an arm around her sister’s shoulders.

When together, and so close as they were in that moment, it looked as if one was staring at two photographs of their mother; two versions of Karou - Cassandra the younger, with her curious wild eyes and then Alessandra with her prominent facial angles. The traces of their Fathers were few and far between; they only really left their marks in the colour of the girl's eyes.

“What I meant to say it, I’m unsure,” Alice murmured, finally looking up to meet Warren’s gaze. “If you stay, what will you do? How will you spend your days here? Sure, there’s good work to be done – we can always put anyone with a decent head on their shoulders to good use, but they will never let you forget that you are not nephilim.”

“Actually, you don’t have to offer me work. I have plenty of work to do already. I can steer my company dealings entirely remotely and discretely.” He’d worked hard to get the staff employed by REDford to a point where they could sustainably run the company from day to day without little interference from himself. It would come in handy for when he was no longer around. That way, his legacy would live on.

“I think it ultimately comes down to happiness,” Cassandra said. “Would your staying make anyone happy?”

“Yes, of course, it would. For one, we agree that it would make our mother happy. It’s just that after Remus, we-…” Alice had to stop, her empathy sometimes caused a resurgence in emotions, and it was always painful when she talked of her beloved stepfather.

Cassandra took over for her sister; they made an excellent team, “Mom’s had a few companions, but every time they left, they took a little piece of her with them. My dad took away her faith in her ability to make others happy, and the others only helped at chipping her esteem away even more.”

“What we’re trying to say,” Alessandra said, smoothing out her hair with her fingertips. “Is that we aren’t willing to let something like that happen again. I know you think it’s wrong of us to meddle. We are adults now, and we know we should let her do what she pleases, but it scares more than just us to see her walking the halls like a ghost, black-eyed and barefoot, at three in the morning. We need some security that you’re not going to just up and leave one day when you get bored.”

Warren rubbed over his chin, taking into account what they had said; he empathised with their protectiveness even if he felt like he was being cautioned by Karou’s “mother” rather than her daughters.

“I guess you have to ask yourself whether you trust me?” Warren’s eyes met Alice’s again; she’d asked him if she could once before, and she had decided to.

In reply, she just nodded. She felt that she could, even if she couldn’t have put the reason why into words.

“You do? That easily?” Cassandra stared at her sister, dumbfounded.

“Yes. I do.” She sounded certain. “There are years and years of secrets hidden within the walls of this Palace, Unspeakable thin-…”

“That goes without saying if a place has remained long enough, horrific things are bound to have occurred within its walls.” Warren shrugged; he already knew what Alice was about to say...

“If you stay, you’ll undoubtedly learn of some of them, and you’ll have to keep them secret. You also have to understand that this is our home, and it is the only place for our family in this entire world. We’ve got nowhere else to go if something happens to it; we have to protect it at all costs.”

“I respect that, but I’ve spent almost one hundred years of my life trapped by castle walls and their secrets at one time or another,” he began, “I don’t intend on being cooped up in your Palace. Enoch is a large place, and I like city life. I get to watch people and get lost in the crowds without interacting with them. That’s perfect for me. I’d like to be close enough to be there when and if she needs me.”

The sisters looked at each other with an approving nod.

“Once all this trial business is over, we could help you find a house out in the city?” Cassandra said. She spoke a little faster, with some excitement, obviously pleased by his answer.

“Well, then you should know I am quite picky regarding property investment. My Villa in Italy will take some beating. Frankly, it was perfect. I do have one stipulation for the potential new property, though. It has to be within walking distance. I’m not a fan of commuting too far, and of course, my car isn’t here...” He said this, not wanting to make any promises yet, and Alice shared in that sentiment.

“We’ve got a lot to go first, though, Cassandra, and the next move for getting out of this mess is all yours, though,” Alessandra said sensibly while looking at Warren. “We can help you however you want; we’re quite a team when it comes to swaying the court, but you’re going to have to use your own charms to get one over on Callida.”

“You don’t doubt that I have the skill required, do you?” Warren smirked over at Alessandra, the lopsided one that was Karou’s personal, butterfly inducing favourite. He cocked his brow for added effect.

On cue, Alessandra’s face lit up in a beautiful golden glow.

“Why Alessandra, you blush so easily,” He grinned devilishly, and Alice seemed to lose all her senses and giggled. “… just like your mother…”

At her side, Cassandra’s eyes blinked wide open. What the fuck is going on here? They’re… flirting… Ew…

“My apologies, I’m only toying with you.”

“Well, less of that. Seeing as I’m quick to blush, you should practise your charms on Cassandra. The flattery of men doesn’t so easily beguile her.” Planning to leave to escape her embarrassment and uphold some modicum of dignity, Alice stood from the couch and straightened out her dress. “I suppose we ought to remain positive that this will all be resolved soon, so with that in mind, we should put our heads together and come up with a plan as infalable as possible.

“I’m really not all that worried about the court. I’ve been trailed for manslaughter be-...fore...” He blurted - it had slipped out before he could reign it back in. Now he ran his finger threw his hair with a look of resignation cast over his face. The girls had probably heard worse, so he let it go.

Cassandra looked at Alice and smirked. “Then how about some househunting?”

“Already?” Alice asked, but quickly Cassandra was whispering something into her ear. Once again, the nephilim’s face lit up, but this time with a bright idea.

“Now, here was I thinking we were having an open meeting, and you’re whispering like school girls.” Warren tutted. “Aren’t you going to share your secret?”

“About that...” Alice grinned. “It’s more something that we have to show you.”

Both girls stood up and moved toward the door.

“Meet us down in front of the Great Hall in about ten minutes.”

“Make sure nobody sees you,” Cassandra added, and they both left.