Thanks for all the reviews! Y'alls are awesome. It was a Saturday, so you're in luck! I decided to pump this one out on short notice. All for you. Be grateful. :P
Enjoy!
Amber liquid filled a large snifter made of thin glass, reflecting the light of a fire in the tall fireplace which was the only source of light in the room. The vapours reached Shizuru's nose, strong and vibrant with woody colours. Tipping the glass back, she downed it and poured another. Shizuru drank and drank and each time she threw back another swig of the amber liquid she felt but a burning headiness that swiftly faded in the empty recesses of the voracious corpse that was her body. She could taste what she ate, but mortal food was a transient pleasure that could not, in and of itself, sustain her cursed corporeal form.
A knock sounded at the door.
"Come in."
Midori entered and asked politely, "I trust you enjoyed your bath?"
"Mmm, yes. Thank you," Shizuru tipped the glass back and filled it once more before walking over to settle back in her deep, cushioned chair. She wore a loosely flowing dress that fell just past her knees and was a red so deep as to be black, shimmering a dark ruby when she moved and the hems fluttered behind her, swirling about her legs in fleet-footed flight like a dance. Laced, criss-crossed, up her calves were a pair of soft black leather sandals, looking like a mix between Roman legionnaire's footware and that of a ballerina. In reality, the dress was simply a staggered sheet of cloth that she had pulled from an enormous armoire standing sentinel to the sprawling bed. Folding it in half, pinning it at her shoulders and belting it with a wide sash of rich creamy satin that hugged her hips alluringly, Shizuru had effectively fashioned a chiton for herself, having rejected the questionable attire offered to her.
Pants? She had plucked at the form-fitting trousers with distaste. A Lady did not wear pants.
"I'm amazed you came willingly. I thought I was going to have to subdue you forcibly and drag you here kicking and screaming," Midori did not mean it to be in any way insulting, and Shizuru did not take it as such.
She smiled, amused, "I think you'll find I can be quite reasonable at times, contrary to popular belief." She grinned at Midori around her glass, "Unless you would prefer to sharpen a few stakes while I make ready my trusty iron-maiden. Then, by all means..."
Midori chuckled, "Looking to have a bit of fun, are you?"
"Always," her voice was rounded within the bowl of her beverage as she took a neat sip. Shizuru made an appreciative noise, "This really is lovely whiskey you have."
"Why thank you," The auburn-haired hunter stood, "Is there anything else you'd like?"
Shizuru watched her walk to the liquor cabinet and pour herself a glass, "I don't suppose you would happen to be willing to supply me with nourishment?"
"Me, personally?" Midori asked jokingly, the thick glass of the decanter clinking against the more delicate snifter.
"That was not my original intention, but if you are offering," red eyes burned in their sockets, the dimly lit room making the skin around them seem dark and bruised so that they glinted like candles from a deep cave, "I would not refuse."
"Should I be flattered?" Midori rejoined her, sitting in a chair across the low table in front of the fireplace.
Shizuru shrugged, a rolling of her slender shoulders, "You have a rather pleasant scent about you. But you are not my favourite...flavour," she admitted.
"I am both honoured and relieved," Midori retorted dryly, "However, I am not offering. Nor will I force any of my Company to do so."
"A pity," Shizuru said, "And if they submit to me voluntarily?"
The Cynthian Company's leader narrowed her eyes, "I would prefer it if you did not propose something of the sort to them, either."
"You leave me little choice, Artemis. How shall I keep myself fed? What If I grow...desperate?" Shizuru's tone was light, but her words were threatening in nature, pushing the woman's boundaries.
"What was that you said about being reasonable?" Midori replied a bit sharply.
"Peace," Shizuru held up her hands with a smile, "I was but testing your limits. Even humans do that, if I can recall correctly."
Midori harumphed, taking a sizeable gulp of whiskey, "Normally not with human lives as their medium."
"And I suppose war does not test human limits with human lives?" The vampire queried slyly, "I've missed out on quite a few large ones while I was away."
"What a travesty." Her retort was dry and cutting.
"Now now," Shizuru chided teasingly, "Don't be rude. You obviously need me for something, else you would have disposed of me in Natsuki's quarters. Or tried to, at any rate."
For a few moments, Midori merely rolled her glass between her hands, observing the warm swell of amber liquid within, "We would like your help," Midori finally informed her directly.
Shizuru arched a brow but said, "Go on."
"The vampire community has grown vast over the years. We, The Company, have managed to systematically thin their ranks, but I fear it's not enough. The Clans have bickered with one another for centuries now, but it has steadily escalated recently. War is coming. And it will be upon us swift as plague."
"These Clans you speak of," Shizuru leaned back in her seat, steepling her long fingers and crossing her legs, "What are they?"
Midori stared, "The Three Clans...Didn't you found them?"
Shizuru shook her head.
"But you made the vampires?"
"I created an elite personal guard with numbers only large enough to conquer my enemies and not draw unwanted attention to me and mine," her words were smooth as a serpent's, matter-of-fact, "I fed them with constant warfare which, in my time, was as proclivitous as breathing, and refused to allow them to reproduce or create others without my express consent. Those who did so were punished. Severely."
"Well," she twirled her auburn hair thoughtfully, "Then after you were entombed they must have flocked to a few strong individuals without your leadership to guide them."
Shizuru nodded in agreement, "What you say is logical."
"Alright," Midori leaned forward, "The Three Clans are each led by a single Elder and an aristocratic Court. They are Rákóczi, under Reito Kanzaki, Árpádok under Tate Yuuichi the second, and Medveczky, under Maria Graceburt. The Fangs who attacked you were mere goons who thought you were trespassing upon their feeding grounds and those of their level would refer to them in some sort of slang. We, the Company, and the Aristocracy, however, speak of the Clans with their official namesakes. Presently we are in the Árpádok Kingdom. All vampires are very territorial and any of their kind who trespasses is treated without mercy. They have very strict borders that fluctuate only a few miles per year but have been stable for quite a long time now, which is reason enough to cause concern," Midori took a deep breath and plunged forward, continuing, "Intel shows that they've been amassing behind their borders, gorging upon the human populations beneath them and training soldiers. I've seen the barracks, myself."
"I imagine they are fearful sights to behold," Shizuru grinned, "Not to mention heavily guarded. I commend your stealth and bravery."
"That feels oddly...nice?" Midori frowned, "Thank you, I suppose. I'm sorry, it's just queer to be talking to a vampire in a civilised manner, let alone being praised by one," she laughed grimly, "Hell! Especially not by you!"
"I am not like those you have ever encountered before," ruby eyes glinted with amusement, "That, I can guarantee."
Midori raised her hands defensively, smiling, "I believe it!"
Shizuru drained the last of the expensive scotch and ran a red tongue over the brim of the wide-bowled snifter to catch the last drop, "I'll help you."
She blinked, "Just like that? You don't think it's a trap?"
"Regardless of whatever trap you may have in store for me should you decide to convert to treachery, it would be in vain."
"How can you be so sure?"
That fanged smile glinted, "It. Would. Be. In. Vain."
Midori didn't press the matter. She wanted to live to see another day.
"Ye of little faith!" Shizuru chided on a more light-hearted note.
Forcing a smile in return, she rose to leave, "We'll start tomorrow evening after you've had a chance to rest during the day."
"How kind of you," Shizuru murmured, words laced with sarcasm.
Midori opened the door to leave, but paused at Shizuru's query, "Where is Natsuki?"
"She is safe," Midori responded, side stepping the question.
"I wish to see her."
"I don't think that would be best," she said slowly.
Eyes flashed with a scarlet light, menacing through the shadows, "That was not a request."
She gulped, held captive by her own swelling terror, "Ill...just...go get her."
"Now, that would be best."
Midori fled the room and the creature residing within it.
Once on the other side of the door, feeling only slightly more secure now that she was no longer occupying the same room, Midori let out a breath she hadn't even known she was holding. Shoulders sagged, eyes closed and she took a deep, steadying breath. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, she thought to herself.
"Ma'am?"
Midori looked up to see the nine soldiers standing guard outside Shizuru's door all looking at her. Though she could not see their eyes, she knew they were concern. Worried. Nervous. Hell, they should be. They should be scared out of their wits, and if they're not Ill let them take more liquor to the monster. See how they like being struck by that terrifying stare as though they were flies on a wall. By the time she had left, Shizuru had already been finishing off the bottle and rumaging through the cabinet for more, completely unfazed no matter how much she imbibed.
"Callisto," Midori said sharply, and the soldier stepped forward quickly, "You're to retrieve Kruger and bring her here."
The soldier visibly hesitated, "Ma'am?"
"You heard me," Midori growled, raising a hand to her temple. She was getting a migraine, "I give you permission to reveal yourself to her, if you wish it."
Callisto saluted and strode down the corridor.
A particularly nasty twinge in her head made Midori wince. She made for her room, desperate for sleep yet knowing she would receive next to none. It was going to be a long night.
If you have any questions about the history of the Clans, it'll all be answered in consequent chapters.