After Marie's confession of taping Daedalus' mouth shut, the Prince sat dumbstruck within his office. He shook his head and put his hands over his face trying not to laugh out loud.

While she was in front of him confessing her misdeeds, he had to clench his teeth together to keep his composure. Laughing would have destroyed her respect for him and what he would have to do now in order to teach her a lesson. But now he couldn't think of a logical course of action because he couldn't stop imagining what Daedalus must have looked like as he discovered the tape across his lips! Lord knows in his own Kindred infancy, Julian himself had been tempted many times to play a prank on the old man. But he had never followed through with it. Fear of what his own Sire, Archon, would have done to him quickly erased any playful thoughts.

Speaking of the fierce Nosferatu, perhaps it would be best to let him know that he was aware of the situation. Julian made his way down to the gatehouse entrance and let his presence be known.

"My Prince, how can I be of service this evening?"

"Well, you can start by forgiving me for having such an incorrigible Childe who can't seem to keep out of trouble for more than ten minutes at a time," Julian replied. "I am very sorry about what she did to you in your sleep."

Daedalus gestured to a chair and invited him to sit. Julian reclined and waited while his friend pulled out a cigar and lit it, his expression thoughtful. "While I do worry about what the future holds for her because of her lust for adventure, I imagine that Marie will settle down if she is given the proper incentive."

"What did you have in mind exactly?"

"The incentive would be that she can continue to exist," the Nosferatu replied with a small smile. "If she wants to play games then she will find that the price for it may be more than she is willing to pay."

"She has a very practical nature, Daedalus. I mean, if I ordered her to do something for the good of all Kindred then there is no doubt in my mind she would do it. She does follow orders. She is loyal to us. Her spare time is the concern. But I don't want to overload her with so much responsibility, thus ruling out the possibility for her to have normal Childehood. Such a thing would be cruel."

"You did not have a Childehood and you turned out just fine. Archon forced you to grow up fast and instead of languishing in depression thinking of what you were not allowed to have, you thrived. How do you explain this?"

Julian tucked his chin down to his chest and grinned, embarrassed. "Oh I managed to get into my own fair share of scrapes, old man. I just did not get into those scrapes in such a public way. Unlike Marie."

An overhead scratching and scraping was heard by both men and Julian looked up into the network of water pipes. Suddenly a large green iguana fell with a plop on the Prince's lap. The three foot long reptile had long brownish spikes running down its back and neck. The tail spikes swished across his face and before he could even yelp in shock, the Nosferatu came over to grab her off of his lap.

"Samantha, stop scaring our guest. That was not very nice," he chided. "She likes falling on my furniture for fun," he explained.

"How long have you had that lizard," Julian demanded.

"About six months," the elder replied. He set Samantha on his lap and began to softly pet her along side her neck ridges. The female lizard leaned into his fingertips and tipped her head to the side in pleasure. "I think she had been washed down a drain pipe over near Toreador territory and then she wandered along until I found her by the edge of the park. She had a pretty expensive collar on her. Only a Toreador would put diamonds on their pet iguana," he said with a disgusted sigh.

"Do you have any other pets I should know about," Julian asked with a wry grin.

"I have a couple of invisible mice. But I can never find them. So I can't introduce you to them."

Julian frowned. "You're kidding me, right?" Nosferatu were the alchemists of the Kindred world and there were stories far and wide of what sort of obscene and outrageous things they were capable of.

"No. I'm not joking. They're a pain in the ass. But getting back to the subject of your unruly Childe. Have you considered spanking her?"

Julian snorted. "Spanking just makes her pout. She thinks it's a game and that I'm teasing her."

"You can always give her a small dose of the Prison of Light."

"No. She'd complain that she needs to go bikini shopping and then ask for a credit card to do that shopping with. Daedalus, I understand what you're getting at. Trust me I do. But the methods that worked on you and I are absolutely useless on her. I just wish that I could reign in some of that passion she has for mischief and put it to good use. The problem is that while is a terrible misfit, she is also the one Childe I can count on to do whatever it takes to make sure my will is done," he explained.

"Sonny is too polite. Cassandra is too meek. And Billy is ... Billy," he finished, confused with how to even describe his near mute son. Julian sighed in defeat and leaned his head back into the chair, relaxing.

His Prince's evaluation of his brood was curious. While he agreed with it, there was one thing that caught his attention. "Do you have plans for her, Julian? Are you grooming her for an assistant or perhaps another bodyguard?"

"I had considered it," he admitted. "However there is a slight problem with my plans. And that is the fact that Marie will only do what I tell her to up to a certain point."

"Ah. You mean she's not malleable enough."

The Ventrue frowned in response.

"You want her to be the perfect bodyguard. But she doesn't want to listen to you when it concerns political issues and etiquette, yes? She reacts instinctively and is without guile. Yes, I think I see the problem now. However, I don't think this particular 'problem' will ever be resolved, my Prince. She is the most unpretentious Ventrue I have ever met. Her lack of guile is her guide and her strength. I would not advise trying to change her in such a drastic way as to curb her instincts. Those same instincts may save your neck one night," he said sagely while puffing on his cigar.

"You may be right about that," Julian stood and thanked his friend for the advice before returning upstairs.


Marie winced as the door shut loudly behind her. Man, he was pissed, she thought.

Her Sire had locked her in their room for the night as punishment. She walked over to the window and watched as he entered the Gatehouse. Oh no, she groaned Daedalus was going to cook up some horrible and mean story to tell him and then she'd be really screwed.

But when her Sire opened the door to their suite a few minutes later, the expression on his face was serene. Marie dug further down into the covers in bed and squeezed her eyelids shut, pretending to be asleep.

"I know you're not asleep yet, Marie. Look at me. We need to talk."

"What did he tell you," she asked.

"About what?"

"About what I did."

"We didn't discuss it. However you and I do need to discuss your behavior of late." She scooted up on the bed and wrapped her arms around her knees. He gave her a stern look before sitting on the bed beside her. "You cannot continue to go this route. If you do then you will put yourself and others in danger. So far it has been mostly harmless. But the warning Daedalus sent you does have an expiration date. Do you understand?"

"I think so."

"I'm glad. Because I'd hate to see what that old man would do to you if you played any other jokes on him. And believe me when I say that he is capable of tearing you limb from limb without even breaking a sweat. He is your elder in age as well as strength. So I would not advise you to antagonize him again. If you do feel the urge to play some silly little joke on him then I would like you to think about what will happen to you afterwards. If he doesn't hurt you, I will. The first time it happens I'll stake you and then leave you in one of the cells downstairs for three days. The second time, I'll drain you, stake you, and leave you for three days. The third time it happens, Marie, I'm going to make you his servant for no less than one year."

Marie's eyes widened further and further with each threat. On the last note, however, her jaw dropped open in terror.

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "Now lie down and go to sleep. I'll join you in a bit. I have other business to finish up before I can rest."