It was like any other day in New Orleans, Louisiana for Brianna Gilbert as she found herself in the middle of the courtyard of hers and Marcel's kingdom doing her usual training routine that she did everyday at this time at exactly nine in the morning. Brianna usually began her training at five, though, but since it was the weekend, she had the opportunity to sleep a little bit more.
"Good," the strict voice of Blair commented as she watched as the Princess of New Orleans and Ruben continued to go through the movements of the young girl's morning training session. "Make sure you are light on your feet and bend your knees, so you'll be able to turn and move more smoothly," the blonde vampire advised Brianna after she had noticed how hard the Gilbert girl was standing in her black sneakers.
Brianna quickly accepted the criticism from her other vampire trainer as she leaned onto her toes instead of the back of her heels. The advice ended up helping the Gilbert girl a lot because as soon Brianna threw another punch at Ruben, she did end up missing, unsurprisingly, but with the lightness in her stance, Brianna was able to get in a quick kick to his ribs.
The hand to hand combat training went for another twenty minutes of Brianna accepting Blair's hard comments and Ruben throwing her around like a rag doll. However, as time passed, Brianna kept on getting better and stronger after she would correct her mistakes and land solid punches and kicks to the male vampire's body. The Gilbert girl never gave up, though.
Every time that Brianna got knocked down, she got up even stronger as she knew Marcel was looking for greatness from her (even though he had never voiced it). Brianna just didn't want to disappoint her Godfather, so she wiped the sweat and blood from her face after a hard hit from Ruben before she got right back up.
The Gilbert girl took a deep breath once she was back on her feet after being tossed around like a toy by Ruben for the twenty time this morning before Brianna brought her fists steadily up in front of her face with a feeling of determination ringing all throughout her body. Brianna briefly closed her hazel eyes as she tried to center her mind like Marcel had taught her before Brianna swiftly opened her eyes and threw a series of punches at Ruben's face.
Brianna was counting for the vampire to block her shots with his enhanced speed as the Gilbert girl immediately went for a sneak attack by sweeping her dominant right leg at Ruben's feet. The action caused the vampire to bend his knees and shorten his stature like Brianna had hoped for before Brianna lifted her leg once more and double side kicked Ruben straight in the face. Brianna instantly grinned as she watched Ruben fall on his ass on the concrete before Brianna quickly pushed her black sneaker against the vampire's throat.
Brianna had learned in the past month that vampires were very quick to adapt, so the Gilbert girl swiftly changed her position as she slammed her dominant knee into Ruben's throat while she used her left knee to hold down the vampire's left arm. Once Brianna was sure the vampire couldn't move, the Gilbert girl (with a sense of calmness and confidence) grabbed the wooden stake from the back of her leggings and pushed it against Ruben's heart.
Ruben immediately tapped his large right hand along the human girl's thigh when Brianna started to place pressure onto the stake and caused the weapon to break through his skin. The vampire watched as Brianna stood up from his body with a wide grin across her face. Ruben silently tsked as he reminded Brianna time and time again that she can never let her guard down around a vampire. Ruben needed to teach the human girl another lesson, so as Ruben slowly stood up from the ground, he looked over to his fellow vampire, Blair, and nodded his head over to the Princess of New Orleans.
Blair immediately got the message as a smirk rose onto her painted red lips before she and Ruben used their enhanced speed to rush up to Brianna with them directly in the human girl's face.
Brianna yelped as she quickly fell back onto her ass on the concrete ground. The Gilbert girl was definitely surprised when she didn't see that coming but Brianna wasn't going to back down from a little fright. No, instead, Brianna tightened her fingers around the wooden stake in her hand before she pushed herself off of the ground and stood in front of the two vampires.
"Really, guys?" The Gilbert girl questioned with a smirk playing on her face and her cockily tilted her head to the side as she stared at her two vampire trainers, "you really wanna do this?" Brianna have always only gone one on one with her vampire trainers per Marcel's request but Brianna was never one to back down from a challenge even if she was only a human.
"What?" Ruben questioned with his own smirk quickly raising onto his lips as he and Blair slowly walked around the human girl. "You scared you won't win, Princess?" The brown eyed vampire teasingly taunted Brianna.
The Gilbert girl immediately shook her head in disagreement as Brianna and her two vampire trainers slowly walked in a circle in the courtyard to see who would make the first move. "I just don't wanna hurt you, Ruby," the Princess of New Orleans teased the buff vampire in front of her.
Blair rolled her blue eyes in annoyance from this cat and mouse game that they were playing when Blair was never one to chase after her meals. "Stop being a little bitch and come at us, Gilbert," the blonde vampire commanded with a snarl as she glared at the human girl.
Blair has never liked the girl, who Marcel is so keen on protecting and making Princess of his kingdom. The blonde vampire didn't think Brianna deserved any of the praise and respect when she was only a measly human. However, Blair owed Marcel a favor after he saved her life three decades ago when she had first arrived in New Orleans, so Blair didn't have any other choice than to help Brianna with her training.
The Gilbert girl wasn't a complete waste of space in Blair's opinion, though. Blair could see the obvious potential in Brianna and she could see the determination to prove everyone around her wrong. The human still had a lot of work to do but Blair would happily push and punch Brianna until she reached her full potential.
Brianna shot the blonde vampire a quick smirk (not even bothered by Blair's words) before she quickly rushed at Blair. The Gilbert girl threw a right hook to the vampire's cheek before she slammed the blunt end of the stake into Blair's throat before she could fully turn her head back around after the punch.
Luckily, Brianna caught the blonde vampire by surprise as Blair quickly took a large step backwards to get away from the stake that choked her. The Gilbert girl only had half of a second to grin at her work before she squatted down and swept her right leg behind her when she heard Ruben's heavy combat boots heading right towards her.
Brianna made a small mistake from not turning around to face Ruben because while she was so focused on Blair, she didn't notice Ruben jumping out of the way of her leg sweep nor did she realize that Ruben caught her leg until it was too late. Ruben tightly held onto Brianna's leg and yanked her towards him until the human girl's back was pressed against his chest. "You gotta be quicker than that, Princess," Ruben whispered against Brianna's ear from behind with a wide smirk on his face.
The Gilbert girl released a loud snarl from Ruben's taunting - something Brianna was used to but hated to hear when they were training as it always got to her. Brianna took a deep breath to center herself before the human girl roughly slammed her elbows into Ruben's chest to put some space between them. Once Brianna was free from the vampire's grasp, the Gilbert girl quickly turned around and faced Ruben with a glare.
"Do you admit defeat yet, Princess?" The brown eyed vampire taunted as he slowly strutted towards Brianna.
The Gilbert girl released a humorless chuckle as she shook her head. "Not a chance," Brianna muttered as she ran full speed at the male vampire before she slid across the concrete to take out Ruben's ankles. Brianna ignored the sting through her thin black leggings as she quickly grasped the stake on the ground.
However, before Brianna could make another move onto the brown eyed vampire, Blair used her enhanced speed to toss the human girl onto her back. Brianna groaned at the bite of the concrete on her back before she quickly flipped herself and Blair around, so she was on top. Brianna quickly yelped when Ruben surprised her by grabbing her arms from behind. The human girl groaned when Blair threw a punch to her stomach while she was stuck in Ruben's hold.
Think, think, think, Brianna told herself as she tried to remember all of her training on how to fight against vampires. Brianna had never went at two vampires at the same time, so Brianna had to think on her feet. The Gilbert girl ignored the pain in her stomach from Blair's punches as she leaned towards the blonde vampire before she quickly slammed her back against Ruben's chest to make him fall backwards. Brianna used this to her advantage as the human girl flipped over Ruben's shoulder and jumped back to her feet.
Brianna quickly grabbed the wooden stake from the ground before she squared her shoulders when the two vampires began to walk around her like a shark after it's prey. The Gilbert girl raised her right fist up while her other hand held the stake before she snarled, "let's go again."
Meanwhile, Marcel Gerard grinned when he entered the courtyard and found his Goddaughter in the middle of her training. Marcel didn't want to interrupt, so he didn't announce his arrival as he leaned against the brick wall and watched Brianna go toe-to-to with the two vampires.
Brianna's mind was running a mile a minute as she switched from throwing punches and kicks at Ruben to blocking Blair hits and avoiding her fangs. The Gilbert girl thought she was doing pretty well for a human against two vampires with only a few scratches and bruises. However, Brianna made a small mistake about ten minutes into the fight.
Brianna got so wrapped into going punch for punch while trying to aim for his heart with the stake against Ruben and his stupid smirking face that the human girl completely forgot about Blair. The Gilbert girl only remembered the blonde vampire when Blair roughly grabbed a large chunk of her brunette hair before the blonde vampire slammed Brianna down on the concrete ground.
"Dammit," the Princess of New Orleans groaned when she felt the back of her skull make contact to the rough ground. That's definitely gonna hurt tomorrow, Brianna thought to herself as she glared up at the smirking blonde vampire above her.
The Gerard vampire released a loud, impressed whistle and clapped his hands as he pushed himself off of the brick wall and announced his arrival in the courtyard. "I thought you were tougher than that, Princess," Marcel teased his Goddaughter as he watched as Brianna was pinned to the ground by Blair.
The Gilbert girl released an angry growl from her Godfather's teasing and Ruben's chuckling before Brianna lifted her leg and slammed the vamp of her black sneaker against the center of Blair's back. It gave Brianna enough amount of surprise for Blair to lean back before the human girl quickly pushed Blair down on the concrete. Brianna swiftly grabbed the wooden stake that she had dropped before she roughly slammed the stake down by Blair's head hard enough that Brianna ended up piercing the blonde vampire's ear.
The courtyard was tense with silence as Brianna and Blair stared at each other before Ruben broke the silence as he broke out in heavy laughter. "I can't believe you let a human get the drop on you," Ruben teasingly called to the blonde vampire with a wide smirk amusingly displayed across his lips.
Blair released her own growl like the human girl had done before she used her enhanced speed to roughly pull the wooden stake out of her ear lope. The blonde vampire used the blunt end of the wooden weapon against Brianna's stomach to get the human girl off of her. Blair stood up before she glared down at the human girl and growled, "you better kill me or you won't get off so easily next time."
Marcel chuckled in amusement as he watched Blair speed out of the courtyard with her enhanced speed before Marcel joined his Goddaughter and Ruben. The Gerard vampire helped Brianna off of the concrete ground before he playfully ruffled her brunette hair and told the human girl, "she respects you."
Brianna rolled her hazel eyes as she muttered, "I really doubt that." The Gilbert girl would have to be stupid to not see that Blair didn't like her. Brianna understood, though. She dealt with it almost everyday when some vampires in New Orleans felt like she shouldn't be in the place that she is in as the Princess in the vampire kingdom because she's only human.
Brianna didn't let it bother her, though. However, what did bother Brianna and what she found very annoying was how Blair would talk crap to her face during training. It got difficult sometimes when your own teacher didn't exactly believe in you. Brianna knew Marcel believed in her, though, so that was more than enough for her.
"Don't worry," Ruben jumped into the conversation after he had wiped the sweat from his face with his white under shirt. "She's a bitch to everyone," Ruben joked with a smirk playing on his lips.
The trio couldn't help but chuckle together as they've all dealt with Blair's anger at one time or another. After the laughter came to a stop, Marcel grabbed Brianna's leather jacket off of the glass patio table before he held it to his Goddaughter and announced, "let's get going."
The Gilbert girl was puzzled as she slipped on her leather jacket over her red crop top. "I still have another hour of training left," Brianna mentioned to her Godfather.
"I know but I think it's time for you to learn how to deal with the witches in the city," Marcel told the human girl, "and as the Princess of New Orleans, you need to learn how to make the hard choices for the greater good of our kingdom."
Brianna's hazel eyes immediately widened in excitement after Marcel mentioned the witches. The Gilbert girl had watched Marcel leave the compound plenty of times to go deal with the witches who were practicing magic but he would never let Brianna go with him. Every time Brianna would ask, Marcel would tell her that she wasn't ready yet, so Brianna was quite excited that Marcel was finally bringing her along with him.
The Gerard vampire lightly chuckled at Brianna's child-like excitement. It always amused Marcel but it helped him remember that Brianna was still just a child in this world and it made Marcel want to protect Brianna even more. The Gerard vampire turned to Ruben before he praised him, "thank you for training her today."
Ruben carelessly waved his right hand at the King of New Orleans. "No problem, boss," Ruben muttered before he looked over to Brianna with a smirk as he added, "I like teasing the Princess."
The Gilbert girl playfully rolled her hazel eyes at the muscular vampire before they shared an amused grin with each other. Brianna loved her friendship with Ruben, unlike with Blair. They always picked on each other and it was in fun nature. "I'll see you tomorrow," the Gilbert girl told Ruben with a quick wave before she swiftly jogged to catch up with Marcel, who was already walking out of the courtyard.
The Goddaughter and Godfather duo silently walked through the Abattoir as they walked past the different vampires in their kingdom until they were under the beating sun of New Orleans. "So, where are we going?" Brianna curiously inquired as the Gerard vampire led her to a black Mercedes SUV sitting in front of the compound.
"We need to go check out a tip I received this morning about a witch in Mid-City," Marcel informed his Goddaughter as he helped Brianna into the backseat of the black SUV before he closed the door and joined her on the other side.
"What did the witch do?" Brianna wondered as Diego, her personal bodyguard and one of Marcel's most trusted vampires, started driving the SUV down Canal Street.
"I got a tip from a very concerned coven member that the witch, Farrah, has been collecting ingredients to perform a spell," the Gerard vampire explained to the human girl. It wasn't exactly a difficult case since Farrah had no history of trying to perform spells in New Orleans, so Marcel figured this would be the perfect first case for the Gilbert girl.
"Is there a reason as to why we're checking up on her?" Brianna questioned as she tried to understand what was going on and why Marcel was personally looking into this witch.
"Well, witches aren't allowed to practice magic in New Orleans, so she is seconds away from breaking the rules," the Gerard vampire informed his Goddaughter.
Brianna quickly furrowed her brows together. "Why can't witches do any magic?" The Gilbert girl inquired with confusion all throughout her voice.
"We can't have witches performing any sort of spells to keep our kingdom safe," Marcel further explained. "It's a known fact that vampires and witches have never really gotten along," the Gerard vampire stated before he informed Brianna, "and the reason why the rules are in place for the witches is so they can't try to overtake us and ruin our kingdom."
"I suppose that makes sense," Brianna mumbled as she lightly shrugged her left shoulder. The Gilbert girl didn't think it was exactly fair that witches couldn't practice magic that were born with but then again, Brianna did understand from Marcel's prospective. If the witches came together to perform a strong spell, then they could possibly kill Marcel and take over his kingdom. Brianna definitely didn't want that to happen, so she decided to keep her opinions over unfair treatment of the witches to herself.
The black Mercedes SUV grew silent with a calmness between the King and Princess of New Orleans for about six more minutes before Diego slowly pulled in front of a small red house that Brianna figured belonged to the witch who they were investigating.
The Gerard vampire used his enhanced speed to beat Brianna to opening her door before he helped his Goddaughter out of the vehicle. Marcel shut the car door behind them before Marcel led the Gilbert girl up the wooden porch with the white cracked paintjob. Marcel rattled his fist against the front door before he turned to his Goddaughter. "I'll take the lead today," the Gerard vampire uttered before he told Brianna, "but pay close attention and speak up if you think or feel like something isn't right."
The Gilbert girl quickly nodded her head as she let Marcel know that she was following along to his instructions before Brianna faced the front door when she heard it squeak open. Brianna watched as a brunette woman in her early thirties peak out from around the door.
Farrah's brown eyes immediately widened when she saw the King of New Orleans standing on her porch. "H-Hello," the witch stuttered as she nervously stared at the Gerard vampire. Farrah was so nervous about having Marcel in front of her that she didn't even take notice of the young girl beside him.
Marcel widely smirked when he saw how scared the witch looked when she noticed him. The Gerard vampire always did like to put fear into the people around him. Marcel placed his hand on red wall of the house that was beside the entryway that he couldn't walk through just yet. "Invite me in," Marcel ordered the witch before he muttered, "we need to have a quick conversation."
Farrah knew there was no point in denying the King of New Orleans' request when she knew without a doubt that Marcel would either stay and wait for her to leave her house or he would just get one of his vampire minions to stalk her and hurt her. Farrah took a deep breath as she silently prayed that nothing would go wrong before Farrah mumbled, "come in, Marcel."
Farrah ignored the vampire's cocky smirk as she turned around and led the King of New Orleans into her living room. "What, um, what can I help you with?" Farrah nervously inquired as she began pulling at her finger tips, a public display of her anxiousness showing from having a vampire in her house.
Marcel heavily chuckled at the fact that the witch was trying to play stupid with him. However, Marcel didn't want to frighten Brianna with his over-the-top and malicious nature on her first case, so the Gerard vampire calmly informed the witch, "your sister called me today and she told me that you were loading up for a spell. Leigh wasn't sure which one but you know you aren't supposed to be practicing magic at all."
Farrah immediately looked down to her hands after she realized that she had been caught when she thought she had been very careful while preparing for the spell. I guess not, the witch bitterly thought. "It's... It's our dad," Farrah confessed as sobs began to rack through her body, "he's really sick and I just want to help him through his pain."
Brianna felt horrible for the witch in front of her. No one should ever have to go through the pain of seeing a loved one sick. The Gilbert girl leaned over from her place on the couch with Marcel and placed her palm on top of Farrah's shaking hands. "I'm so sorry you're family is going through that," Brianna softly murmured as she spoke for the first time since they entered the witch's home.
Brianna knew no words would make Farrah feel better when her father was ill right now. The Gilbert girl knew that first hand when her adopted parents died. It sucked but it was just something you had to go through. Brianna just hoped that they could help Farrah and her father in some way.
Farrah instantly flinched at the touch before she relaxed when she felt warm skin against hers instead of the cold touch of a vampire. Farrah slowly looked up before she shot the human a tiny and tight smile as she finally took notice of the girl for the first time. Farrah had only heard stories about the Princess of New Orleans. Brianna wasn't what Farrah thought she would be like when the human girl seemed so soft versus how evil she knew Marcel Gerard could be.
"You know you can't practice magic," the Gerard vampire reminded the witch once more before he lightly suggested with a small shrug of his shoulders, "maybe you could ask one of my vampires to heal your father."
Farrah hurriedly shook her head as she almost immediately vetoed the King of the New Orleans' idea. "I don't want a vampire anywhere near my father," Farrah exclaimed with venom dripping from her voice. Farrah learned from her early childhood to never trust vampires and seeing them first hand as an adult, Farrah wanted nothing to do with them.
Marcel raised his hands up in false innocence with an amused smirk playing on his face. "It was just an idea," the Gerard vampire muttered with a light chuckle.
Brianna bit down on her bottom lip as she tried to think of a way that they could resolve the witch's problem. "Maybe... Maybe the doctors could help him," the Gilbert girl suggested as she knew it wouldn't anger any of the parties since it didn't involve any vampire blood or magic spells.
"We tried," Farrah muttered as she rolled her brown eyes. "Every doctor in the city say there isn't anything they can do to help him," Farrah explained to the human girl before she mumbled with annoyance throughout her voice, "I think they're all just cheapos."
Brianna frowned as she listened to the witch before she turned to Marcel and asked, "isn't there anything we can do to help?" The Gilbert girl felt horrible as she could see how sad and worried the witch in front of her was for her father's health. Brianna knew Farrah couldn't practice magic to heal her father but there had to be something they could do to help.
The King of New Orleans would never go out of his way to help a witch but he did feel weakened to want to do what his Goddaughter wants. Marcel also didn't want Brianna to think that witch cases were always bad and weren't about helping their kingdom. Besides, Farrah didn't perform any spells, so there were no rules broken today.
Marcel released a heavy sigh as if it pained him to help out a witch before he told Farrah, "I have contacts with a doctor out at UCLA. I'll give him your number to look at your father's case." The Gerard vampire raised his hands in the air as he added, "I'm not promising anything but he may be able to help your father."
Farrah loudly gasped in surprise from the fact that Marcel was actually offering some help. "Thank you! Thank you Thank you!" The witch gushed as she jumped up from her couch in happiness that her father was going to be able to heal and feel better again.
"You should be thanking Brianna here," the Gerard vampire told the witch as he looked over to his Goddaughter with a small smile shining across his face. It wasn't the way Marcel would usually handle witch issues but the grin on Brianna's face made it worth while. Marcel knew if he had the chance to have a child before he turned into a vampire, he would have looked at them with the same look he was giving his Goddaughter.
The Gilbert girl's cheeks turned beet red as she could feel her face heat up when Farrah swiftly leaned down and pulled her into a hug. "It's nothing," Brianna murmured once the witch had pulled away from the tight embrace, "I would want someone to do the same for me if it was my siblings that were sick."
"I'm indebt to you," Farrah quickly told the human girl as she felt like she owed the King and Princess of New Orleans for helping her and her father. Farrah would usually rather die than thank a vampire but when it came to her family, Farrah would do whatever she could to help them.
"You can start by handing over all of the ingredients to the spell to stop you from being tempted to do it," the Gerard vampire ordered the witch as he carelessly leaned back in the couch with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Of course," Farrah swiftly agreed as she stood up from the couch. The witch really didn't have any use to the ingredients of the spell anymore since she knew that the Gerard vampire was going to get in contact with a doctor, who could help her father.
"Anna, you go with her," the King of New Orleans instructed his Goddaughter as he nodded his head towards the witch. Marcel figured it was the perfect opportunity for Brianna to learn more if she got to experience these type of things first hand, so she'll be ready in the future if she were to handle a witch on her own.
Brianna silently nodded her head before she stood up from the couch and followed the witch out of the living room. They walked down a long hallway before Farrah opened a door to a little art studio. The Gilbert girl quietly watched as Farrah lifted a medium sized furry light pink rug before she pulled a loose wood from the flooring. Brianna moved closer before she watched as the witch started pulling different items from the hole in the floor.
The Gilbert girl curiously looked at each item that Farrah handed to her. Brianna didn't know that much about witches and spells, (besides the Deveraux sisters) so the human girl was quite curious about the details of a spell and what all witches can do.
Farrah immediately took a notice of Brianna's interest when she picked up the small wool satchel of coltsfoot and opened it up. "That's a perennial composite herb," Farrah told the human girl as she stood up from her kneeled position on the ground. "It has healing qualities in it," Farrah explained about the yellowish brown plant, "centuries ago, witches and healers would use small doses of Coltsfoot for colds, sore throats and non-serious illnesses."
"Wow," Brianna mumbled as she ran her pinky finger through the dry yellow herb in the small satchel. "I never knew an herb could be that important," the Gilbert girl admitted as she pulled the strings to close the bag of Coltsfoot before she placed it on the wooden stool where all the other ingredients for the spell laid.
"You would be surprised how many plants, herbs, and flowers have a special position in some of the biggest spells," Farrah told the Princess of New Orleans as she placed the satchel of Coltsfoot into a plastic bag along with all the other ingredients for the spell as well. "Like for example with this," Farrah announced as she opened up another wool satchel.
"This is aventurine," Farrah told the human girl as she showed Brianna the light green crushed quartz. "It helps with prosperity and blocking out negative energy," Farrah explained, "it doesn't sound like it should be in a spell but it helps people heal and connect their souls to the cracks that are causing them pain."
Brianna silently nodded her head as she took in the witchy information from Farrah. "Thank you for explaining it to me," the Gilbert girl praised the older woman with a small smile. Brianna found it quite interesting that witches knew so much about these type of things. Brianna felt bad for the witches because they couldn't use that knowledge to use here in New Orleans.
"At least someone from that dreaded kingdom will listen and hear the witches," Farrah muttered as she rolled her brown eyes. The vampires always acted like the witches were crazy and childish instead of actually learning and taking in the information unlike the human girl in front of her was doing.
"I guess it's difficult for witches and vampires to live in the same city, huh?" The Gilbert girl inquired as she watched Farrah carefully place the piece of wood back in the floor before she placed the rug back over it to conceal the secret hiding spot.
"The vampires and the witches have never gotten along for centuries in New Orleans," Farrah told the human girl once she stood up from the ground. "The vampires here only care about taking blood and causing terror for everyone else," the witch muttered with a deep and unsettling frown on her face as Farrah thought about the vampires in the city.
Brianna quickly frowned as well as she listened to the witch. "I'm sorry you can't live peacefully in your own home," the Gilbert girl quietly apologized. Brianna knew there were rules for the supernatural beings in New Orleans and she essentially is on the vampires' side but Brianna still felt a level of sadness for the witches. They should proudly show what they can do but Brianna figured a witch many years ago tried to kill Marcel or an important vampire and ruined it all for the other witches.
Farrah shot the human girl a small, soft smile. "I think you'll be good for New Orleans," the witch quietly murmured before she noticed, "Marcel already seems so much more calmer with you around." Farrah lightly shrugged her shoulders before she added, "maybe we will finally see peace."
"I hope I can help that happen and change the way witches are treated," Brianna murmured as she lightly squeezed the witch's hand. "No one should be punished for trying to help their family," the Gilbert girl stated with a small frown on her face. Brianna knew if she was in Farrah's position, she would want to do the same thing for her family.
Farrah lightly shook her head with a soft chuckle. "You are far too kind to be Marcel's Goddaughter," the witch admitted to Brianna while she was only half joking. Marcel Gerard was literally the devil here in New Orleans, so it was quite a sight to see that Brianna Gilbert was the complete opposite.
"Thank you," the Gilbert girl muttered in amusement before she softly chuckled as she joined along with the witch.
Once a calm silence settled in the small art room, Farrah announced to the human girl, "I want to give you something." The witch led Brianna across the hallway and into her bedroom. Farrah reached inside of her navy blue pillow case on her bed and pulled a small item. Farrah turned to the human girl before she handed Brianna a black and wood-like crystal.
"This is called a black tourmaline," Farrah murmured as she nodded her head to the crystal in Brianna's palm. "It's for protection and it blocks out bad energy and it helps keep you centered to your soul," Farrah explained the properties of the crystal. "You are only human surrounded by vampires," Farrah stated before she told the human girl, "you need to be protected, no matter if you trust Marcel or the other vampires to protect you. There will always be rouge vampires and people in general trying to take you down because of who you surround yourself with."
Farrah lightly shook her head with a soft smile on her face as she stared at the human girl. "You are far too sweet to be sucked into this life," the witch murmured before she closed Brianna's hand around the crystal and added, "but I hope this will offer you some of comfort."
The Gilbert girl opened up her palm and rolled the black crystal between her fingers before she looked up at Farrah with a small smile. "Thank you," Brianna praised the witch for the gift before she promised, "I will carry this with me at all times." Brianna wasn't exactly scared in New Orleans when she knew Marcel and his close vampires were protective over her but it was still nice to know that the crystal was with her to ward off bad energy around her.
The witch slowly nodded her head once at the human girl as she accepted the praise before Farrah held her hand out towards her bedroom door and asked, "shall we?" Farrah didn't want to take advantage of Marcel's once in lifetime calm attitude and she definitely didn't want to test the vampire's patience.
"Of course," Brianna murmured before she silently led the way back to the living room with the witch following her from behind.
"These are all the ingredients that I had for the spell," Farrah announced to the Gerard vampire after she walked across the living room and she handed Marcel the plastic bag that held the small wool satchels.
Marcel nodded his head as he peeked inside of the plastic bag and took a look at the content. The Gerard vampire tied the bag before he focused his brown gaze back to the witch. "If I find out that you are buying these things again, I won't be so nice next time around," the King of New Orleans warned the witch.
"I know," Farrah solemnly murmured as she bowed her head. Farrah slowly connected her brown eyes with the Gerard vampire's strong gaze before she promised, "it won't happen again."
"It better not," Marcel muttered as he gave the witch one last warning glance to make sure Farrah understood how serious he was before the Gerard vampire turned around and swiftly exited out of the house without another word.
"Thank you for your time," the Princess of New Orleans kindly told the witch with a warm smile before Brianna quickly turned around and followed after her Godfather.
It was silent between the human and vampire duo as they walked down the steps of the porch and out on the street of New Orleans before Marcel led Brianna to the awaiting black Mercedes SUV. Marcel walked over to the trunk and popped it open before he carelessly tossed the bag of ingredients inside. The Gerard vampire slammed the trunk closed before he turned to Brianna with a soft smile.
"You did very well today," Marcel complimented his Goddaughter. "Cases will not always be this easy," the Gerard vampire reminded Brianna before he told her with a small nod of his head, "but I know you will do a fine job." Marcel leaned his back against the SUV as he commented, "you play a good Switzerland role." The King of New Orleans chuckled and raised his hands up in innocence before he admitted, "I'm at fault when it comes to dealing with these type of cases. I can't always act like that for the sake of my vampires but you did a great job at seeing both sides and trying to find a resolution that will please everyone involved."
"Thank you," Brianna mumbled as she bowed her head in embarrassment from Marcel's compliments. The Gilbert girl had been quite nervous but excited when Marcel invited her on a witch case today. Brianna didn't exactly feel like she really did anything since Marcel did most of the talking but Brianna was still glad that she did enough to please her Godfather.
The Gerard vampire placed his thumb and point finger under Brianna's chin and lifted her head up until her hazel eyes were locked with his brown ones. "You will make a great leader one day," Marcel softly murmured before he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on the human girl's forehead.
Marcel definitely wasn't one for an emotional moment at two in the afternoon while he was sober, so the Gerard vampire pulled away from Brianna before he loudly clapped his hands together and exclaimed with a wide grin shining across his face, "let's go get some lunch!"
The Gilbert girl giggled as she shook her head in amusement at her Godfather. "Okay," Brianna mumbled in agreement as she could definitely eat before Marcel opened the backseat door for her and the human girl climbed inside of the SUV. Brianna couldn't help but let a small smile settle on her face as she gazed out the window when Diego started driving them through New Orleans.
My home, Brianna thought to herself. The Gilbert girl felt happy and accomplished after her day as the Princess of this very city. It was a small task but Brianna felt even closer to New Orleans. Brianna could only wait to see what tomorrow would hold in the ever so excited city filled with vampires, witches, and werewolves.
