It was an odd experience for Simon, working in his small and secluded office with the knowledge that a vampire was quietly sleeping in the wooden box behind him. Unless one knew before hand that Victoria was being kept in his office, one would not suspect anything in the room was out of the ordinary. There was a stark contrast in behavior between those who knew of the room's secret occupant and those who did not. The various self-important nobles who visited from all across York would regularly chat with-in his sanctum, would be blissfully unaware of its temporary inhabitant. In vivid contrast to the various clergymen would avoid it at any cost, even in-spite of the angel's divine judgment and subsequent gift. To many Victoria was a vicious caged animal, who would tear them to shreds at a moment's notice regardless of their current temperament.
For a few nights, Simon figured, he could sleep in his office with a few people covering his post while he attended other matters. Outside of the rare muffled movement when Victoria readjusted her position with-in her box, she was peacefully silent. Even after 3 nights she had not moved, garnering the curiosity of many in the church. Despite her existence being tainted as it were, many with-in the church still wished to see a divine blessing, which was becoming rarer nowadays.
While scratching away at a message destined for some far flung province, Simon heard a series of sharp knocks emanating from the vampire's box. The commander slowly approached the crate and carefully lifting up the lid. Victoria was still noticeably weary, despite her days spent recovering, the toll the trial had taken was now very much apparent. “Thank you for allowing me to stay here, Simon. What time of day is it?” A quick glance into the church foyer revealed what was left of the late afternoon sun, “Sun still has a little while till it sets, go back to sleep.” Nodding, the vampress lay back down, “would you mind getting William to pass on a message to our mutual employer that we'll meet them for dinner and having a few additional bodies would not be a problem.”
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It was a relatively quiet night for the Wandering Vagrant, a moderately sized inn located in the southern part of city. The mid-week pressures from the financial districts had limited the night's clientele, meaning that only a handful of the traveling merchants chose to spend their time in this part of the city. The few patrons that were present at the establishment, were spread out in their own little pockets to eat or drink their cares away. Everyone was happily laughing as the various bar women and men kept the alcohol flowing and their plates filled.
Leo sat waiting in an obscured back corner, waiting for William and whatever acquaintances he would bring. As he sat drinking his mug of wine the reality of the situation finally dawned on him that the little blood-sucker had actually managed to get out of her almost certain death sentence. He had, of course, been prepared for Victoria's death since they had departed together from the south all those months ago. Secretly, he was happy that she was able to survive her trail, even if his ego would not permit him to say it out loud.
The tinkle of bells announced the arrival of a party of five into the quiet tavern. They all wore heavy brown cloaks which obscured their various adornments. Leo quickly spotted William and hailed the party across to his table whilst signaling to the bar staff to bring over some hot food. After the introductory formalities had concluded the various clergy sat down with their, now former, captive. Victoria placed herself in a corner beside Leo and Katherine, while Leo, Simon, Norman and William arranged themselves across from them whilst ordering their own drinks.
Since Leo had last seen Victoria, her body had become a lot more battered and tired than when she had arrived in York. From what little William could convey about the judgment of the angels, he could infer the severity of the injuries which had left her bed-ridden for several days. Her once calm visage was now clouded in weakness, high-lighted by her paler than usual skin tone and dark rings under her eyes. Each movement looked somewhat forced and, despite her usual inclination to put up some form of front, her body lacked the strength to do so.
The waitress brought out a range of boiled vegetables and various roasted meats, roughly arranged as to separate the different foods while giving it a minor sense of decoration. For the religious among the group the small feast was much more luxurious than they were accustomed to, tending to favor more basic meals as to remove worldly temptation. Eventually they relented to their hunger and carefully took servings, with some relishing the flavorful food they seldom would experience. The only one who did not partake was the weakened vampire.
Leo glanced around the room, confirming that the corner they occupied offered enough cover in conjunction with their guest's large frames as to perform certain taboo acts with attracting unwanted attention. “You folks don't mind if I give her something to drink?” Everyone else had heard William's reports on her particular feeding habits, though only William had seen it in person. Both Leo and William acted as lookout, allowing the rest of the party to observe her collecting blood whilst engaging in idol conversation as to not draw unwanted attention. As Leo returned her custom forged blade before rolling back his sleeve, revealing the numerous scars from her surgical cuts that had healed overtime. Even in her weakened state, Victoria took care when extracting her meal. Carefully examining the surface for a suitable location and cleaning the area, before making a small incision into his skin as to drain a small amount of blood into her cup. Once she had gotten her small tribute, she pressed down and wrapped the cut in fabric as to prevent dirt from entering the wound. A small bit of life seemed to return to her fatigued face as she drank the drawn blood, the donor had already returned to the roast before him, unphased by the procedure.
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It is an uncomfortable experience to be observed intensely by those sitting around the table, mostly those who had not interacted with Victoria for any extended period. William ignored his colleagues apprehensions and maintained casual conversations with Victoria while eating their meal, or in her case shuffling food around as to maintain appearances. Eventually their apprehension died down and they began to return to normal, although Katherine's curiosity was piqued by the side-effect free method of feeding. Clearly looking for any change in the veteran mercenary's physique.
“So Victoria, what are your plans now that you have been pardoned?” Simon asked, “I would rather keep you under the watchful eye of the church and away from the general public, but the blessing you have received has made that somewhat complicated.” Victoria simply shrugged “I do not currently have any commitments. However, I am sure that I will have to remain under your observation long enough for our caravan to move on-wards so I will be somewhat stranded here. I do have a few errands to run with-in York, so I will be located here for a while. As the church has been far more lenient than could be expected, I do not mind giving up some of my time until something changes.” Both Simon and Norman, having leadership positions of various caliber, both instinctively guarded themselves by either crossing their arms or covering parts of their face. “Ideally” Simon opened; “we would like to conduct some extensive interviews documenting your body, as well as assigning a member of the church to monitor your affairs and generally limiting your contact with the general populace. However... given how you are now have been blessed by an angel, it would be somewhat blasphemous for us to keep you locked away without cause.”
Victoria closed her eyes for a brief period of time, mulling over her options: “Here is my proposed deal, I believe it to be fair for both of us. You will have me at your full disposal for a moon cycle, during that time I will answer your questions and submit to some experiments. I will reserve the right to reject harmful experiments and to refuse to answer questions for any reason. I will reside temporarily in the Church and you may assign me tasks to do with-in the church, which will not cause me undue harm. In return I get to leave for brief periods at night. I may be assigned an observer, but I may ask them to stand outside of earshot for whatever reason. As I do need to drink blood, I require one offering every three days. The amount offered by Leo is enough for our agreement, I will not ask how it is sourced. After the lunar cycle we shall re-assess the arrangement.”
Simon, William and Norman all excused themselves to discuss out of earshot of their ward, leaving Katherine to observe the vampire. The break in negotiations allowed Victoria to speak somewhat freely, “so what do you plan to do now?” Leo gave pause, pretending to think about it “The guild can always use an extra hand, I'll stay around for a month and see what happens.” Regardless of what he might say publicly, the life as a merchant and body guard suited him. The food was good, the boss was one of the better ones he had had and when it got dull a bandit raid would provide entertainment. The pair knew each other well enough to understand the underlying meaning.
After a short delay the trio returned, “Thank you for your patience and your honesty. We've weighed your offer and found it mostly acceptable.” Both parties shook on the matter, Victoria got up to leave first “I shall return to the church after we finish up, I have some tasks which require my attention. I assume I am to sleep in your office.” Simon nodded, “That alleviates our concerns. Norman, for the next month your team is being assigned to help with research on vampirism and will be assigned William as an additional body.” As they parted at the tavern's entryway, Simon placed both hands on one of Victoria's hands. “Thank you for investing in your relationship with the church. Whilst many in our group are short-minded, I believe that a partnership will benefit both of us in the long turn.”
The vampress departed with William serving as her appointed custodian, leaving Leo with the several nosy clergymen. The former mercenary felt Norman's arm wrap around his shoulder, roughly steering him towards the church. “Let's have a little chat.” Of the many options before him, Leo opted to return the physical coercion in kind and overpowered the younger man's attempts at redirection. “If you wanted to continue our drinks at the inn I am staying at, you could've simply asked.” The group moved to a public well, devoid of people aside from the rare drunkard.
“So” asked Katherine, “why do you serve Victoria? Its not about power or wealth, so why do you follow her?” Leo just shrugged “Do I need a particular reason? She pays me well enough and isn't some pompous twat who thinks they're God's gift of combat.” The counter was obvious, “It is not enough to remain behind for a month waiting for them.” A quick glance around, confirmed that there were few people wandering the streets “Its not my place to say, but I owe her for something and that is enough of a reason for me.” It was true what he had said, she had saved his life back when he was prisoner for Lord Redford which had been one of many events that led to her unwilling conversion into a vampire. The rest of the party took the hint and dropped the matter, instead questioned him about any side-effects that resulted from the blood drinking.
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Victoria reached the Carpenter's Guild just as they were closing, flashing her seal that Leo had returned to her. William watched as she quickly performed several administrative tasks of a seemingly urgent nature, both the arrangement of her assets and the sending of two letters to the same unknown recipient. When asked about the contents she replied only with “nothing you should be concerned about, the contents doesn't involve your current assignment.” The word current stood out to William from her veiled statement, although asking for clarification would in all likelihood result in similarly vague answers.