Several months had passed since Alcina asked Theodora to join the ranks of House Dimitrescu. Over the course of those months, the pair had become friends.

Theo roamed the halls of the place she now called home. The sun hung high in the sky outside, which meant her only source of entertainment slept in their rooms. The girls, Theo had learned, may not have been entirely vampire like their mother, but they did have some tendencies.

Like being nocturnal. Unlike their mother, who only needed to a few hours of sleep every few days, the girls slept most of the actual day away. They'd usually wake around four at night, and return to their beds before ten the following morning. This meant left Theo and Alcina to deal with the day-to-day activities of the vineyard. Shortly after she took her position, Alcina had taken to showing her how the wine making process worked. Theo caught on to the process pretty quickly and helped whenever she could.

A frustrated growl caught Theo's attention. "Every one of them are incompetent."

Theo stopped at the door, the faint smell of cigarette smoke lingering in the air. She knew Alcina's office sat on the other side of the door.

Theo gently knocked on the door. "Enter."

The redhead gently closed the door behind her. Alcina sat at her desk. As expected, any papers that lay on the desk were piled into neat stacks. A book lay open in front of her. Honey golden eyes shot up, glaring at the intruder. They softened a moment later, when she realized who had disturbed her.

"Al? You okay?"

"Yes, Theodora." Theo sat in one of the armchairs across from the large desk. She knew instantly that it was a lie. She had been around long enough to know that the matriarch only smoked when she was upset or stressed.

Theo raised her eyebrow slightly. "You sure? You don't seem it."

Alcina sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm just frustrated."

"Anything you wanna talk about?" The taller of the two sat back into her chair. She looked over to the redhead across from her, who waited patiently for her response.

Alcina had always kept her personal grievances to herself. That was until Theodora appeared. The spunky girl had such an air of comfort and compassion around her. For the first time in centuries, she had someone she could truly talk to, to confide in. It was refreshing.

"Mother Miranda has requested all of us for a meeting tonight. She wants a fully detailed report on how everything is coming along with the new test subjects she's sent. I've gathered some notes, but I haven't had the time to finish them. I also need to make a trip to the neighboring village before tomorrow. There are some supplies that are needed for the next part of the wine process. I'd send one of the maids but the past four have shown they're too incompetent to gather what I request."

Theo nodded slowly. She had heard the aftermath of the poor maids that failed their Lady. "I'm not sure I can help with the Miranda part, but I can go get those supplies if you want?"

"Would you?"

The redhead flashed her signature smile. "Of course. The girls won't be up for another few hours so I'm free until then. At least if I help you, I can feel like I'm doing something other than watching the paint dry."

A confused look took over the pale woman's face. "The paint has been dried for decades."

"It's a figure of speech. It just means- never mind." Theo waved her hand. The last time she tried explaining a saying, it had taken over twenty minutes. "Either way, I've got more than enough time on my hands and not enough things to do. I'll help out with whatever you need. All you have to do is ask."

"Thank you, Theodora. I appreciate it." Alcina pulled a clean piece of paper out of the notebook. Quickly, she wrote a small list of the items she needed. "Here are the items. Do not worry about funds, just tell them you're with House Dimitrescu."

Theo took the paper and looked it over. Nothing on the list looked too difficult to get. "Okay cool. I'll be back in a few hours. Try not to kill anyone until then!" With a quick wink Theo left, shutting the door behind her.

"Greetings Lady Abaeus." A voice called. Theo paused and looked up at the carriage that stopped beside her. A large man sat at the front. He offered a friendly smile with a tip of his hat.

"How do you know my name?"

"My apologies. You see, I'm known around these parts as 'The Duke'. I heard a rumor that Lady Dimitrescu hired on a new guard after she saved her daughter. You seem to fit her description, so I only assumed you were her."

"Oh, you're that Duke." Theo had heard Alcina talk about the man before, mostly when it came to prices and his ability to find any item that was requested.

"The one and only. Would you like a ride to the village?" Theo opened her mouth to ask him how he knew, but he cut her off. "The only reason anyone would travel this road is to go into the village. I've got some business there anyway. Plus, it could be nice to have someone to talk to for a while. It gets painfully quiet when you're on this road alone."

Theo looked at the man for a moment. She couldn't sense anything off about him. He seemed friendly enough. "Oh, sure. Thanks!" Theo lifted herself up into the seat beside him. Surprisingly, there was been a gracious amount of space.

With a wave of the reigns, the horse took off again. "I don't mean to pry, but I'm curious as to how long you've been staying at the Castle?"

"Uh, I think it's been around five months? Maybe six?"

"Do you enjoy it there?"

Theo smiled as she looked around at the scenery. A thick forest lined either side of the road. Its wildlife could be heard, scampering about the underbrush. "Yeah, it's nice."

Duke raised a curious eyebrow as he looked to his temporary traveling partner.

"Strange. That's not the word that most people associate with House Dimitrescu."

It hadn't been the first time someone said that, and she suspected it wouldn't be the last. Theo knew what went on within the dungeons of her home. She couldn't bring herself to judge the people she met based on that information alone. How was it fair for her to judge them, when she had done worse in her life?

"I'm not like most people."

"I can tell. Lady Alcina wouldn't keep you around if you were."

Theo could tell from his silence he wanted more information. However, she took the opportunity to get some of her own. "How about you? How long have you and Alcina known each other?"

Duke instantly noticed that she called the matriarch her true name instead of her title. He knew it wasn't something she let just anyone get away with. He realized they must be closer than he had first thought. "The better part of a decade. I had just started my traveling business when we crossed paths."

"What kind of stuff do you deal in?"

"Mostly antiquities. Though, I've been known to find anything for the right price."

"Even information?"

"If the price is right."

"Good to know."

Duke pulled on the reigns as they entered the center of the town. "Ah, here we are. I have a few things to attend to while we're here. Everything on that list should be in the market square. Just follow this path and make a left."

"Sounds easy enough." Theo nodded as she jumped down from her seat.

Duke called out to her as she began walking away. "I do have a request."

She stopped, turning back to him. "Shoot."

"I have good standing with this village, and I'd like to keep it that way."

"Of course. I'll be on my best behavior."

"Thank you." While he didn't get the impression she would cause any trouble, he just wanted to be sure. The last time he had brought a guest along, it hadn't ended so well. Granted, his guest had been a freshly turned lycan from the Heisenberg House. Duke wanted to air on the side of caution. "I should be finished with my business within an hour. That should be plenty of time for you to gather what you need."

"Thank you." Theo said as she took the bag from the merchant. Pulling out the list, she checked off the last item. "Alright, so that's everything on Al's list. I got the girls their surprises. I think that means I'm done here."

It seemed the girls were exceedingly bored as of late. If they weren't off terrorizing the maids, they followed Alcina or Theo around aimlessly. Not that it bothered Theo. She hoped, though, the gifts would keep them relatively entertained and out of their mother's hair. At least until she finished her tasks from Miranda.

"I've still got some time to kill until Duke's ready." All the talking with the various merchants had made the redhead thirsty. "Let's see what they have to drink around this place."

She wandered around for a while, until a small sign caught her attention.

Ye Old Spittoon

The name seemed interesting enough, but the building itself had seen better days. Weeds grew up along the side of the walls and out of the cracks in the foundation. If she were to guess, the building hadn't been painted in years. The shutters on the outside were either damaged or broken off completely.

"They do say that the shittiest places have the best atmosphere."

With a shrug, Theo pushed open one of the doors. There weren't many people inside, whether it was due to the time of day or the place itself, she couldn't tell. Theo looked around before finding her target. A young bartender stood behind the bar off to her left, handing a mug to one of the men that sat at the bar.

She passed a few empty tables as she made her way to the bar. She hopped up on the barstool and waited. She could hear the four men that occupied the table behind her arguing amongst themselves. Thanks to her hearing, she could easily make out what they said.

"I'm telling you; the other group said Dimitrescu's got a new guard dog. They said she's really fast and strong."

"If she were as 'strong' and 'fast' as they say, they'd all be dead." One of the others sneered.

"Even if she is. We'll take all those blood-sucking bitches out."

He really needs to learn how to speak about women. Theo thought to herself. She wanted nothing more than to walk over and put the man in his place, but she had promised Duke she wouldn't cause trouble. Instead, she turned her head slightly and got a look at all the men. She nearly laughed out loud. They were nothing more than common villagers. She was certain even the maids could handle them.

"But she managed to overpower all of them, Leonidas."

"Ivan is a liar. He seen the bitch coming and ran." The one called Leonidas hissed. He took another gulp of his ale, before slamming the cup onto the table. The others looked at him with uncertainty. It was obvious they didn't share their friend's confidence. "Either way, we attack in the afternoon five days from now. With or without your group."

Theo made a mental note that the girls wouldn't be allowed to hunt alone outside of the castle grounds in the coming days. When she returned to the castle, she'd be doing perimeter checks every few hours, especially during the day. She'd make sure that they didn't even make it past the outer walls.

"Hello ma'am, what can I get you?" The young girl asked as she approached Theo.

"Do you have any Sanguis Virginis by chance?"

The girl offered a polite smile. "I'm sorry ma'am, we don't."

"Then just a shot of whiskey then." The girl nodded and poured her a shot. Theo offered a thanks and downed her drink. She stood, laying some Lei on the counter. She began walking toward the door. She stopped at the hunter's table. The men looked at her curiously.

"I'd rethink your little plan, by the way. It's in your best interest to stay away from the Castle." Theo said in a hushed voice as she leaned down to the men. She looked at the men with a devilish smile. They all stared at her right eye in fear. "I may have let your friends live last time, but I assure you the guard dog is not afraid to bite when needed." Straightening up, she walked towards the door. With a wave of her hand, she shouted back to the shaken men. "Have a nice day, fellas!"

I'm sorry y'all. I could not, for the life of me, think of a better name for the bar. It's all that I could think of so I rolled with it.