Apparently choosing to avoid the issue for the time being, she said to Robert, “I hardly think one bottle will be sufficient, dear, but let’s open it. We should have a proper toast to celebrate this occasion.”
“As you wish,” he replied, immediately beginning to peel away the foil covering the cork of the bottle.
The Grand Duchess glanced about the room, looking as though she had only just then realized how many people were present.
“Not that I don’t appreciate any of our present company here,” the Grand Duchess said, “but we do seem to be a bit crowded here, and there is much to be done. Would the gentlemen kindly offer their ladies a moment of privacy?”
“Yes, your grace,” they all replied in a soft, almost mumbled tone. Robert, Loki, Ian, and even William all promptly filed out of the suite to attend to … well, whatever else it was they were supposed to be doing.
Mary took over the duty of preparing drinks, occasionally glancing over to Raina and Brenna with a rather curious expression. She seemed to be studying them both, though it was difficult to call her look one of suspicion, nor one of hunger. Raina felt a strange warmth low in her belly that was comforting, in spite of her rising nervousness, and she wondered if it had anything at all to do with Mary, or if she were instead picking up on some sentiment belonging to Brenna, or anyone else in the room. What did someone else’s attraction feel like? And what did it feel like when someone was trying to imagine the taste of another’s blood? Indeed, it was becoming more and more apparent that this somewhat telepathic ability of hers was something she was probably going to learn to hate.
For once, Raina actually felt her apprehension rise a great deal by being left in exclusively female company. The thought that this was a precursor to something about which she had been warned was not pleasant, and she found herself fidgeting slightly where she sat. Of course, the Grand Duchess was keen to sense this, her subtle smirk broadening into a full, beautiful smile.
To Raina, she said, “Why so anxious, my dear? You are in the company of family and friends. You are completely safe.”
Raina had been wringing her hands, until she noticed the Grand Duchess’s attention was upon them. She stopped abruptly and forced herself to keep them lying still upon her lap.
“I think I know what she’s so nervous about,” Brenna offered.
The smile vanished in a blink. “As do I, but I do not recall having asked for your opinion, Lady Brenna.”
Until she feels comfortable with you, William had told them both in advance, you should only speak when spoken to, or when she invites you to do so. Brenna was not nearly as uneasy about the whole situation, so she was less inclined than Raina to keep quiet out of sheer fear and intimidation. Brenna did not appear so much offended as sheepish about having spoken out of turn.
The pop of the champagne bottle’s cork was surprisingly loud in the large room, making Raina jump with a gasp, and Jen moved suddenly as though to swat at something in the air. Jen turned her hand over to show Mary that she had caught the cork that had been fired at her. She and the Grand Duchess both apparently found Raina’s reaction to be amusing. Mary stifled a chuckle as she softly apologized for startling her. Though she’d thought it impossible by then, Raina’s cheeks flushed warmly with embarrassment and her anxiety clicked another notch higher. More and more, she was being reminded that she was no longer in the company of humanity … and that she, herself, was no longer human, either. The rules of human normalcy no longer applied here. When it came to guessing what might happen from one moment to the next, all bets were off.
“You truly do need to relax, my dear. If you glow any brighter, we won’t require lights to keep this room illuminated,” the Grand Duchess mused with a smile that somehow avoided the flashing of her fangs.
Sure enough, a glance at her hands revealed that Raina’s skin was amazingly, incredibly, slightly aglow with its own subtle luminosity, a faint, light amber radiance that seemed colored by the very tone of the flesh from which it originated. She had heard and read about the phenomenon, having seen a few rare video bits of vampiric bioluminescence on television and the Internet, and she had briefly seen Duke Sebastian like this in person, shortly before he had attacked her. In spite of her prior times of anxiety, or other intense emotions, she had not exhibited this trait, and she wondered why this High Court trait was only now revealing itself.
As though reading her very thoughts, the Grand Duchess explained, “Your Change is not yet complete, in case you are wondering. There are some details that may take some time to fully develop. Things that I’m sure are far less obvious than the traits you’ve surely had an opportunity to discover on your own. It may be another week or more before your Change has fully matured, and perhaps longer before you will be able to find yourself comfortable with them. It is a great shock, becoming a Fallamhain. But I can assure you with absolute certainty that the unpleasantness you may feel in the meantime will be far outweighed by the benefits of these things.”
Raina forced herself to disregard the strange glowing of her own flesh in order to dedicate her attention to the individual that was now, by descent, her ancestor. Those strikingly deep blue eyes, enchanting in their vivid color and rich beauty, were so squarely focused upon hers that Raina was sure that she could even physically sense that stare even without seeing it. She was beginning to wonder if this so-called inspection would have less to do with a visual looking-over and more to do with a complete analysis of her very soul by the Grand Duchess’s preternatural sensitivities.
Mary filled the moments of relative silence that followed by carefully delivering glasses to everyone else in the room, and then pouring a fair measure of champagne into each glass. With the pouring completed, but no more than four glasses available, Mary simply stood behind the Grand Duchess next to Jen with the bottle in hand, still regarding Raina and Brenna both with that strangely blank, yet studious gaze. The Grand Duchess stood and held aloft her glass with its golden, bubbly spirits glistening neatly in the dim light of the equally shimmering chandelier above.
“On this great night, as the waning hours of twilight give way to another dawn,” she declared, “we have gathered to celebrate. While the House of Fallamhain has been dealt a great deal of loss in the past few nights, it has also gained so very, very much by the inclusion of new blood. Tonight, let us honor you, Duchess Raina and Lady Brenna, for your grand commitment to the most noble of all High Court bloodlines.”
While Raina said nothing, Jen said “cheers,” Brenna murmured the Italian equivalent “salute” – something she’d picked up from her favorite mafia-themed television drama – and Mary rather oddly offered the words “up your bum” before taking a swig straight from the bottle. Without even thinking, Raina downed her entire glass in one fell swoop, somehow confusing herself into thinking that she was doing a double-shot of something. In doing so, she was nearly overcome with the bubbly texture of the drink and its volume, having to catch a drop that spilled from the corner of her mouth as she lowered the glass from her lips. Though cold, the champagne was very dry in flavor and strange, but sweet enough not to be bitter or unpleasant. She was rather embarrassed to find that everyone else, including Brenna, had simply chosen to delicately sip at their drinks.
“My, my,” Jen chuckled, “somebody’s thirsty.”
As though cued to do so, Mary immediately stepped over to Raina and offered to refill her glass.
With dark brown eyes much like her own, Mary met Raina’s gaze squarely as she smiled and said, “Don’t worry. I didn’t spit in the bottle.”
“You’ll have to excuse Mary’s brand of humor,” the Grand Duchess said with a smirk. “Our extended families of the Southern Hemisphere have a rather different way of speaking … and acting.”
“Extended families…?” Raina echoed softly with a raised eyebrow as her glass was filled.
“Ozzie, Ozzie, oy, oy,” Mary replied with a fang-flashing grin. She rolled her eyes at Raina’s confused look
, chuckling as she added, “Sorry … Australian.”
“Oh.” And with that, Raina emptied half of her second glass in one pull.
Mary glanced at her drink, and then met Raina’s eyes again with a lingering smile. “Want the bottle?”
“No, thanks.”
“Afraid of getting tipsy?” she asked.
“Maybe…”
“It’ll take a lot more than just this,” Mary replied with a wink. “May as well drink up and enjoy.”
She shrugged, nodded, emptied her glass, and accepted the last of the champagne from the bottle. A glance to her right revealed Brenna’s surprised and amused stare, not just at Raina’s effort to loosen up a bit on Mary’s suggestion but also at Mary, herself. Raina had wondered about it before, but now she understood the look Mary had been giving her. Admittedly, she was already coming to like Mary’s friendly personality, but the idea of yet another female being attracted to her was a bit much for her to handle. Being homophobic was absurd, she realized, especially when Raina had already admitted by then that Brenna’s attraction was mutual. But being the focus of every other female vampire’s lustful interests was beginning to make her feel less like one of them and more like some highly prized piece of meat.
Raina deliberately broke away from Mary’s stare to shyly direct her eyes to the floor. Mary lingered for a couple of seconds before deciding to turn and walk away. She and Brenna seemed to exchange a silent, knowing look as she passed by. Brenna looked to Raina, who gave her an inquisitively raised eyebrow. She merely shrugged and visibly held back a grin as she took another sip of her champagne. It didn’t take empathic abilities to pick up on the fact that she knew exactly what was going on there.
“The next few months may be difficult for you, dear,” the Grand Duchess said to Raina. “Of course, your primary challenge will be to learn the ways of the High Court in detail. I will personally oversee your education in etiquette and traditions, and once we are back home, Lady Olivia will assist you in developing your foreign language and public speaking skills. Perhaps most importantly, of course, will be your instruction in hand-to-hand combat, particularly in the proper use of a sword.” She paused, glancing to the sheathed weapon laying across Raina’s lap. “I was told that you already have some familiarity with swordplay…?”
“Yes, your grace.”
“Japanese swordsmanship, is it?”
“Yes, your grace,” Raina replied again with a nod. “I’ve practiced shinkendo, iaido, and jujitsu for over ten years.”
“Excellent. So, I would estimate that you are already quite proficient with a sword…?”
She shrugged. “I’m okay, I guess.”
The Grand Duchess frowned slightly. “Is that a no?”
“I mean, I’m no amateur, but…”
“Are you not confident in your own abilities?”
Raina hesitated, feeling the eyes of everyone else in the room upon her. “Well…”
“Well, what?” she pressed. “I was told that you were an assistant instructor at your place of training. Surely, someone else must have some faith in your abilities … even if you, yourself, do not have faith in yourself.”
Raina swallowed back the thick sweetness of the champagne’s lingering flavor, straightening her posture a bit as she tried to muster some courage. She considered her reply for a moment before nodding.
“I am not a master, like my instructor,” she admitted, “but I’m definitely not a beginner. I guess I’m a little better than the average person.”
The Grand Duchess blew a sigh between her pursed lips and shook her head lightly, appearing quite disappointed. She began to walk around the room as she spoke, passing the right-hand side of the sofa where Brenna sat.
“The average person? My dear Duchess, the average person knows only how to swing a club like an ape. The average person cannot sheathe a sword without looking. The average person does not know the difference between a hack, a slash, and a proper cut,” she explained as she picked up her broadsword from where it had been propped up against a wall. “The average person would not know that this sword is no more dangerous than a length of pipe in the hands of a fool. The average person is naïve enough to think that this sword is strictly a piece of ceremony, rather than a proven instrument of death.”
The Grand Duchess unsheathed the sword with a swift, almost violent motion, and in the same movement, swung it horizontally. With startling precision, and without even looking at her would-be victim while she instead gazed directly at Raina, the Grand Duchess halted its deadly arc just shy of touching the back of Mary’s neck as she stood over the mini-bar, mixing drinks. Raina half expected to see poor Mary’s head drop from her shoulders to the floor. While Mary had visibly noticed the faux attack, she did not appear to be even the least bit startled or scared by it, clearly trusting her mistress.
Rather sternly, the Grand Duchess told Raina, “The average person … is the very manner of sorry individuals in whose blood this sword has been bathed. For you to say that you are better than the average person is no compliment to yourself at all.”
Quite calmly, Mary turned around and almost lovingly laid her cheek upon the flat of the blade now held near her throat, looking to the Grand Duchess with a smirk. She held up two bottles.
“Bourbon or gin, your grace?”
“Gin and soda for me tonight, love,” she replied with an affectionate smile. Turning back to an astonished Raina, she asked, “And you, dear? What would you fancy?”
“Pick your poison,” Mary said with a glance to her, even adding a wink.
This was simply getting bizarre.
After struggling to overcome her shock, feeling the fizz of the champagne still trailing down into her stomach, Raina managed an answer. “Rum … and cola, if you have it.”
“Ooh, me too,” Mary commented with almost girlish glee as she set about the task of filling tumblers with ice and mixing booze with soft drinks.
The Grand Duchess lowered her blade, gave it a deft rolling flip of sorts, and re-sheathed it as she turned her gaze upon Brenna with a rather less-than-friendly look.
“And you, Lady Brenna?” she asked her quite politely, though she seemed almost to be forcing herself to at least appear somewhat cordial towards her.
The veiled animosity was not lost on Brenna, and Raina could hear it in her voice as she calmly replied, “I’ll have the same.”
“Very well.” She stepped around to the front of the sofa, handed off her sword to Jen hilt-first, and turned to face them both with open arms. Lifting her hands in gesture, she said, “Please, stand.”
Raina set aside her empty glass, while Brenna hurriedly downed the remainder of her first and only drink before doing the same, and they both arose as one. Instructing them in a soft but firm tone, she directed them both to stand with their feet together, back straight, and eyes directly forward. Knowing this for what it surely was, whatever sense of ease that Raina had begun to feel at that point was abruptly erased.
“I feel it is vital that we establish a proper sense of clarity as early as possible,” she explained. “I am not in the business of raising an army. I do not want soldiers or mercenaries. The House of Fallamhain is not a military organization, nor is it a plantation tended by slaves. It is a family, and it is bound not only by blood, but also respect and trust. Without respect and trust, there is no cohesion, no unity. If someone does not respect you, then surely you cannot trust them, and likewise you cannot respect someone that is untrustworthy. Don’t you agree?”
She said this with her eyes focused squarely upon Brenna’s, to which she received the reply, “Yes, your grace.”
“I trust all within my House because they respect me, they respect one another, and they respect the Code. There is respect because all are aware of the totality of their commitment to my bloodline, and they are aware that all actions bring consequences,” the Grand Duchess elaborated. “I am not cruel or unjust. I do not take pleasure in punishing those whom I love.
And truly, I do love all whom I have welcomed into my House. You will find that, above all else, I am firm, fair, and consistent. It is by those three principles that I govern the House of Fallamhain, as well as the International Vampiric Council. It is exactly how I expect those under me to oversee those who are, in turn, under them.”
She had directed the second half of her small speech at both Raina and Brenna, standing with her hands clasped and fingers interlaced at her lap. She was very beautiful, quite simply angelic, but the manner by which she spoke and carried herself was unmistakable royalty, a haughty brand of majesty. It was the way she carried herself that not only distinctly set her above the idea of being just another pretty vampire but also quite forced Raina to look up to her in a way she had not felt herself for quite some time. Not motherly, but perhaps like a beautiful but very stern young aunt.
Just then, the Grand Duchess stepped slightly aside to be nearer to Raina. Her expression softened as she very deliberately took in the sight of her, indeed studying her appearance much in the way a judge might inspect a thoroughbred horse or pedigree cat. However, very unlike the judge of an animal, she did something rather strange: she leaned in, closed her eyes, and actually sniffed at her, first aside her face and then near her throat. Raina tried her best not to flinch nor to lean away from her the slightest bit, but it she was nevertheless slightly unsettled by this. Duvessa smiled at whatever it was that she perceived.
“Aside from those things,” the Grand Duchess continued as she leaned away for a moment, “you will come to find that there truly are many rewards to be had with me. You in particular, dear Raina, will come to learn much of this, as you are still very fresh and new to this world as one of us. Life in the High Court is largely about indulgence … or guilty pleasures of the flesh, as many humans might call them. Do not confuse this with gluttony, of course, because there is such a thing as overindulgence. But because we are who we are … and what we are … we are afforded many delights which humans have long forced themselves and one another to be denied. As your companion, Lady Brenna, can surely testify, there are many foolish preconceived notions and silly inhibitions that you will learn to let go as you come to accept your role.”
The Darkest Colors Page 36