As unexpected as the sound of Sean’s voice was after so long, Ravyn wasn’t really surprised that he had already heard about her plans. She would have been more shocked if it turned out that he hadn’t kept in touch with Hollister throughout her last few years living in London.
“I’ve spent the last seven months hearing them talk about bombs being dropped on the very city you’ve been living in,” Sean continued. “And now, after surviving that, you, an American woman, want to walk straight into Nazi Germany? Cl---” he quickly caught himself. “Just what are you thinking? And I know, Raynor allegedly has some plan to make you pass as a German citizen, but still... And now, without even having...” Sean shook his head, his worry palpable in the trembling of his voice.
“Without having what?” she whispered back after several seconds of silence just to take in the fact that she was finally speaking to him once again. But the fear in his voice was so great that she couldn’t even allow herself a true moment to enjoy the sound of his voice after such a painfully long time.
“Eliot...” Sean made himself answer, his voice sounding pained to even remind her of the grief of that loss.
It seemed that Sean had also been quite shaken by her losing the man who had been the only one who was finally able to save her from that waking death Baron had inflicted in her, just four years earlier. And now, here she was, planning to willingly put herself in further danger, without any of the protection of whatever strange magic Eliot had been able to command.
Ravyn let out a shaky sigh as she tried to form her next sentence, “It’s because of that.”
“What?” Sean asked, thrown by her words.
“It’s because of what happened to Eliot, Sean. And so many other people,” she added. “All of us have to do all we can to try and end this terror, don’t we?”
Sean took a moment to answer, not honestly able to argue against her words, but needing to do all he could to try. “Yes, of course we do. But why, just why does it have to be you?”
“I know you’re afraid of losing me, Sean. But I’m already gone, aren’t I? We’re both dead, me and Eliot. Ask anyone,” Ravyn let out another shaky sigh in response to the sound of Sean’s own sad one at the other end of the call. “And if we’re both dead already, then at least his death should mean something. It should be the reason we all do try to end it. And if someone who loved him as much as I did, if that woman won’t even try? Then what hope is there that anyone else will, either?” she finished in a sad whisper.
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As the summer following the Blitz came to a close, it was finally the night of Ravyn’s rather tense arrival in Berlin. After a short boat ride from London, followed by a tense train ride across Belgium and then onward through Germany itself, she and Connor arrived at a train station there in the capital at last, their trepidation tangible.
Already waiting for them at the platform, an attractive young man who appeared to be in his early twenties stepped forward to greet them. He had slightly disheveled brown curls that fell over eyes of the same shade. He nodded to them each with an almost playful smile.
“Welcome to Berlin, Ravyn,” he spoke in a quiet, furtive manner, greeting her with a polite nod and that continued smile, speaking seemingly perfect English, albeit with a mild accent.
“Thank you,” she answered in a whisper as she scanned his aura quickly, as she always did with most new acquaintances, even during much less nerve-wracking meetings. Though due to those very nerves, she didn’t really take much of note from his aura other than the fact that he was Kindred, and didn’t seem to have any sort of overtly malicious intent toward she and Connor.
Without saying much more at that point, the young man moved to help with one of the few bags they had brought with them. Upon lifting it over his shoulder, he nodded for them to follow him through the doors and out into the streets of Berlin. With a shaky sigh, Ravyn and Connor looked to one another before following after the young man, both just waiting for some sort of confrontation to occur as they stepped onto those streets.
As they followed him into the city, Ravyn allowed herself to peer ever so slightly further into the young man’s thoughts, but she was soon distracted from that endeavor the moment they stepped out of the station. Right then, the majority of her and Connor’s attention was immediately pulled to the plethora of soldiers moving about the Berlin streets that evening, all proudly wearing their Swastikas displayed for all to see.
The handsome young man followed the gazes of the two Americans as they watched the soldiers patrolling the city streets. “They won’t see or hear you,” he told her in a comforting, though still quiet tone, “but I’d still recommend us not dallying, and getting you to the Prince’s home sooner, rather than later,” he finished pointedly.
Ravyn’s eyes quickly moved from the armed patrols and back to their escort at the sound of his words. “They won’t---” she began in a questioning tone, though kept her voice at a whisper.
“All of your questions will be answered there,” he stated simply as he nodded for she and Connor to move toward a car he had waiting for them near the station doors.
The three of them got into the car in silence, before the young man started the engine and pulled away from the curb without any of them getting so much as a glance from the soldiers patrolling. The very fact of them not raising any questions or even as much as a curious glance from the German forces did nothing to quell Ravyn’s curiosity beneath nerves that had been frayed for their entire train ride.
“How did they not stop us at all?” Connor asked Ravyn furtively, despite her being just as perplexed by the ease at which they had simply driven away amidst the presence of so many soldiers.
The man now driving them toward the home of their new Prince just smiled back at them, “I told you they wouldn’t see or hear you,” was all he said as he turned down another street filled with soldiers who also seemed to pay no heed as they passed by.
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“But how?” Ravyn asked as she peered at him more closely.
He just shook his head as he took note of her intense expression that was now centered on him. He continued to hold his smile in place as he spoke though, “Raynor warned me of your... talents,” he settled on, which only caused Ravyn to tense further. “You don’t need to do that with me though. You’re his new Primogen, and he has no desire to make an enemy of your great grandsire, and therefore, all of London’s Kindred. So he will explain all, once we arrive,” he assured firmly.
Ravyn scoffed slightly at his words and how relaxed he seemed as he spoke them, “Or you could just tell me yourself, now,” she suggested pointedly.
The man smiled again as he shook his head back at her, “You are very charming, indeed. And quite beautiful, as expected,” he told her with what seemed like sincerity. “But some things even your sort of charm can’t outweigh.”
Ravyn let out another sound of disbelief as she redoubled her efforts to peer into his well-guarded thoughts. But he was indeed much younger than she, so she easily broke through at least his first layer of mental defenses against the powers he was supposedly warned of.
As she pushed past that first wall, she let out a tiny gasp of understanding, “You mean you’re bound to Raynor, aren’t you?”
He just shook his head again, but still managed to hold his smile, “How else would he ever trust me to get you here safely?”
Ravyn thought on his words a moment as they turned down another street. “So, he doesn’t believe he can trust you without you being bound to him?”
“You are not a patient woman, are you?” he replied in a teasing tone. “Ironic, considering how long you’ve walked this earth,” he had to add with another soft smile.
With a heavy sigh, Ravyn allowed her eyes to move over more patrols making their way through the streets. She then decided to take a new tack with this frustratingly pleasant man. “You speak English very well,” she attempted.
“Do I?” he responded with another bit of that strange playfulness to his tone.
She looked back at him and narrowed her eyes at that rather strange response to her observation, “Can I ask you your name, or is that another question I should wait on Raynor to answer for me?” she couldn’t help adding with a bit of sarcasm.
Though her humor surprisingly did elicit a small chuckle from him, “And you’re funny too,” he responded. Ravyn only allowed another sound of impatience. “And I think I can safely tell you that my name is Alexander. And I’ll even add that I think I might enjoy working with you quite a bit,” he teased further as they pulled into the drive in front of Raynor’s rather impressive haven at last.
Ravyn shook her head at him as he pulled the car to a halt and moved to exit it without waiting for she and Connor to follow, which they did of course. “We’re going to be working together?” she called to Alexander, who had already started toward the doors of the home where a servant had now exited to take her and Connor’s belongings into the home for them.
Alexander turned on his heel in the doorway to grace her with another of those annoyingly relaxed smiles of his, “We already have been. Now, I believe the rest of your answers await, right through here,” he smirked as he gestured for she and Connor to enter the home as well, which they both gave into doing, though each with a sigh of frustration.
Once they were actually brought before their new Prince, Alexander dutifully stepped to the side of the room as Raynor’s eyes moved over Ravyn, while barely acknowledging Connor, of course. But upon meeting the rather handsome fair haired Ventrue with impossibly dark brown eyes, Ravyn began to get more of a picture of why Raynor had his initial reservations about her arrival.
There was a slight feeling of majesty as she moved across the room to reach for his hand. But it didn’t affect her nearly as much as any of the other Princes she had met, including her own sire and husband. Hollister had warned Ravyn that she and Raynor were the same generation, though he was embraced in 1560, nearly forty years before she and Sean. And that was why Hollister had agreed to compel her not to work against her new Prince, as if she had any intention to anyway. But that was the agreement that had to be made before allowing Ravyn to enter his territory and take the position as his new Primogen.
“Welcome,” he greeted her as he reached for the hand she offered.
“Pleasure to meet you,” Ravyn responded politely as they shook hands.
“I doubt that,” he scoffed, but soon moved on, “I take it Alexander made sure your arrival went smoothly then?” he asked as he released her hand, just barely glancing at Alexander as he spoke, his own accent thicker than that of the young man who had brought her to the home that night.
Trying to ignore his previous comment, as passive aggressive tended to be any Ventrue’s native language, especially when faced with a member of another clan who also happened to be of the same generation. “I have a few questions about that, actually,” Ravyn admitted as her new Prince led her to a sofa near where Alexander still waited quietly.
Connor took the silent cue and also moved to find a spot to wait next to Alexander. As they sat, Raynor spoke again, “I’m sure you do.” Ravyn just narrowed her eyes at his brief, unhelpful response. But before she could say more, Raynor continued, “I’m sure Hollister told you that this entire plan hinges on you passing as a German citizen. That’s where Alexander comes in.”
She glanced at Alexander skeptically before replying, “How so?”
Raynor sighed with a bit of his own impatience at having to explain anything to a ‘subordinate.’ But he had insisted on being the one to explain the situation to his new Primogen, so he gave her his answer, “As long as you keep him near you, no one you meet will have any doubt that you are who you claim to be; assuming you use those charms of yours to keep from arousing any suspicion otherwise.”
Ravyn looked further confused then, “What do you mean, ‘as long as I keep him near me?’”
“I suppose it may be hard to explain fully, but the reason you weren’t stopped by any of our wonderful mortal soldiers is because they simply did not see or hear you as you arrived in our city,” Raynor stated plainly.
“Yes, that’s what Alexander said,” she returned, causing Raynor to give Alexander a pointed look. “But he didn’t exactly explain how that was possible,” she added.
“The same way it’s possible that you’re likely speaking in English right now, but I’m hearing you in German. And I’m speaking in German right now myself, but you’re hearing me in English, aren’t you?”
“I’m sorry, what?” Ravyn asked as she and Connor both looked puzzled by the statement, while Alexander simply looked down with another slight smirk.
“That, my dear, is what he does,” Raynor replied as he gestured to Alexander. “And that is why he is going to be an invaluable asset to your plans here in my city.”
“Wait...” Ravyn began as she looked between Raynor and Alexander questioningly. “What is what he does?”
Raynor sighed heavily as he grudgingly offered a further explanation. “He makes others see or hear what he wants, or doesn’t want, them to see or hear. Much more efficiently than any methods a mortal spy or double agent could ever use.”
“W—what?” Ravyn asked, her eyes now glued to Alexander who offered another slight smile in return.
Allowing another sigh, Raynor replied, “Are you familiar with a certain rather rare clan of ours called the Ravnos? They’re not usually Camarilla, but a bond can make for interesting, and useful, bedfellows,” he stated simply.
“Ravnos?” Ravyn nearly growled as her green eyes filled with fury as they now stayed glued to the formerly ever so affable young man. “Yes. I’m... familiar.”