"The Books of Aurelius" The history of a Vampire: Eight
Inauguration
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He is here. I am here.
Buffy was having flashbacks The master behind her drinking from her neck
Buffy was frantically searching for calm and reason. Waking up from the darkness with the most horrid tithing around her lungs.
Buffy was hoping that non of the others were seeing her despair and she tried very hard to concentrate on what he was saying. Angel, after the darkness the first thing she saw was Angel.
"And so for the next five days I entrust you to the Dominus Proles knowing that he will take good care of you. I'm anxious to know how many of you will succeed." The Master concluded while his eyes lingered at Buffy. "Very anxious." The Master said while leaving the room. Buffy had felt a strange tugging somewhere in her gut. She wasn't sure because ever since that last flashback only one question filled her mind.
ARE THEY HERE?
Othan returned to the room and ordered them to follow him back up to the attic. When they all had past the solid wooden door at the end of the stairs he took his keychain and locked it at three points. "You will walk out of this door come next Saturday morning or you will be carried in a bag and for those of you who do not know, this is the size of the bag." Othan held up a small pouch the size of his hand. A young man about 17 years old, who she later found out was called Mitch, asked how that was possible. Othan looked around and asked for any volunteers to answer the question.
Before Buffy could open her mouth the only other woman in the group spoke. "Vampires can't die of human causes except for a wooden stake through the heart or decapitation. When that happens they desintegrate into dust." She said with the slightly arrogant tone that comes from knowing you are smarter than your company.
"Good, Lissane! You've earned 2 points for that answer." Othan told them. "Now, go to the end of the corridor and take out chairs I will be there shortly."
They entered a large room. The size of a small gym. One of the smaller walls was filled with books from the floor to the point of the reclining roof. Along the length of one of the longer walls were a series of mats and weaponry. Along the other were desks with chairs and long wooden beams. The floor was bare at the moment. At the other end of the attic there was a door with no handle on it.
When they were seated Buffy decided it was time to know with whom she was going to share the next five days. She went for the American approach. "Hi all, my name is Buffy Summers and who are you?"
The looks told her she had done something not of this century. They answered though, probably because the curiosity was getting to them too. The young girl went first. "I'm Miss Lissane deBurg, Nice to meet you Miss Buffy." Buffy smiled at her. She was a little arrogant but also very sweet. Strange combination.
"I'm Roland Adams" A man of somewhere in his thirties spoke in clipped tones. He was tall and had long hair that was bound in the nape of his neck like Charles wore it. He was muscled but not build. He scouted the room and gave off an air of cunningness. Buffy felt a natural reservation towards him.
"My name is George and this is Jimmy" One of two huge almost burly men said. They looked almost completely the same and came across as being not the brightest in the bunch.
Othan returned shortly after Mitch had introduced himself. "I will explain the proceedings after which you will go to your rooms to sleep until I call you again tomorrow evening. The next days you will be trained in the basic skills a Child must need. To make sure we have no weaklings in the Order. There will be only one Human a day for the only two of your number. Throughout the day you will be able to win points. There will be 2 rounds of battle between the highest four scores. The prize is the feeding. Unless you are in my sight you are in your room. Questions?"
There were no questions. "Good, now if anybody wants to take something from the library do it now or be bored until 19 hundred hours tomorrow." Buffy wasn't the kind of person to read books but sitting in her room staring at the ceiling was going to be even more boring. If I am going to be immortal I might as well read some books. At least now I don't have to worry about slayer shelve time and doing nothing for an eternity will be a bitch. She choose Pride and Prejudice. Cool a chick book that's actually literature. She only knew about the move because of the hot guy in it but had never had time to see it. Guess I had a thing for the English hotties even back then.
The next night they were called out of their rooms by Othan who was bellowing it from the end of the hall. Buffy had gotten dressed by herself in a pair of breeches and a loose fitting shirt which she tied around her middle with a smooth cord. When the newly borne entered the hall the tables were set up in a school like matter.
"Tonight I am going to teach you about the inner working of this order.
At the head of the order stands the master. He is one of the oldest vampire known to us. His mortal name is long since forgotten. We follow where he leads us. His Childer and their Childer command the clans. They are always to be obeyed. You as Childer of clan members are allowed to consort with them. Only one of you, if she survives, can ever be their equal. Charles is the leader of the warrior clan and the oldest living child of the master. He commands much respect." Othan looked pointedly at Buffy.
Wow, He's a big cahuna. That makes me a possible big cahuna. Buffy was wondering something and thought that maybe Othan would answer her. "Othan," She waited for his acknowledging nod. "How many Childer does Charles have?"
Othan was indeed in a good mood. "Well, little one. You are his first Child in 200 years. After he lost his favorite and only Child in the African wars. He has not sired a single vampire." Buffys stomach was warm with a feeling of being loved like she had felt those days alone with Charles. She missed the scowl that Roland gave her because of it.
"To continue, There are four clans. The housekeepers are lead by the keeper of the keys. They maintain all the houses of the order around the globe. Should you need a safe house, a turning house or a place to life, look for the sign of Aurelius. Every house of our order has one of these somewhere on their facade. If you make it through the inauguration you will be tattooed with it. Mitch is Charia's Child. She in turn is the masters greatgrandChild but from before Charles.
The solicitors take care of all the orders legal and financial affairs. They also set up and maintain fake legitimate persona for all that need it within the order. Lissane is Hollands first Child since he became the clan leader. He is not within the masters bloodline but promoted through cunning and skill.
The foodgathers make sure that the order can conduct its affairs without having to bother with a massive hunt. They also make sure that we are not to ostentatious in our feeding. Georg and Jimmy are the Childer of one of the officers from the clan. It is lead by Harold.
As I said the warrior clan is lead by Charles and it's purpose is to protect the clan from harm but they also search and destroy renegade vampires. Last of all they uphold the laws and decrees of the order throughout the world. The warriors can act as bodyguards for the key figures of the order. We've already established whose Child Buffy is. Roland is the Child of Theresa a formidable warrior indeed with quit the vicious reputation."
At that Roland perked up a bit. He wasn't the grandChild of the master but non the less a important figure in the warrior clan. Maybe he could get rid of the petite blond in the next few days and secure a position of power before he even entered the clan.
"Beneath the clans stand the fledglings they are assigned minor tasks within the clans. There are 5 orders of vampires in the world...." Buffy zoned out when Othan started telling them facts she already knew. Last night was spent dreaming of Spike and Angel or lying awake wondering if they were here. She was pissed at herself for never asking Spike about his turning, when and how. She knew that Angel was a vampire. He had been turned before the eighteenth century. What would Angelus think of her as a vampire? And how would how would her being Charles' Child effect that. They were equals now, weren't they? ".... So, now for earning your daily points. A quiz about the foreign and national vampire affairs." Bummer, Why do I always go all dreamy just before a test. Must be a slayer thing, yep! That's it.
The test was not as hard but only because Charles had already told her some of it. Without that it would have been a disaster. Othan took them and graded them. "The results are as followed. The first four will do battle for the human. At first place: Lissane, second place: Roland, third: Mitch and forth place: Georg." Buffy received two very different looks. Othan was looking at her with a mixture of curiosity and anger but Roland gave her a smirk to rival Spikes. Being the girl that she was she couldn't resist but stick out her tongue at him.
"The battle is relatively simple. The first one to hit the other is through to the feeding. First off: Lissane and Roland." The girl was no match for Roland. She successfully ducked his attacks a few times but he got her with a very humiliating smack on her bottom. "Go back to your books little girl or are you going to be of other good uses." He sneered.
Georg and Mitch took longer they circled each other. The smaller boy being light on his feet but the burly man had long arms to keep the boy at bay with. It was a constant folly of punches and ducks. Until Mitch found a small opening around Georges back and patted him on the back. At that Othan led the remaining four vampires out of the hall and locked the door.
"Sleep well. Tomorrow you have combat training." Othan told them, sending them to their rooms. Not long after that Buffy heard the familiar sound of a heart beat and blood circulation. All of that mixed with far away whimpers from a scared human being. But also the sounds of a fight going on between two vampires. After one particularly loud vampire scream came a particularly load human scream and all went quite.
The next evening was a blast. Buffy spent most of her day teaching Lissane and Mitch basic fighting moves but she also got to train with all of the nifty weapons. Othan also taught her a few new moves. One of which was using her vampire vision in the dark and the other was fighting with her fangs. A body part Buffy was not yet familiar with. It was a good thing she was thought because she was faced off against Jimmy in the feeding battle of the evening. The man was big and although she had not heard him say a single word as of yet, he was smart when it came to fighting. The object of the day was to draw blood from your opponent without using weapons. She beat Jimmy by faking a fall and then biting his ankles. Not before she had to take a few good blows to her midsection though. Georg beat Roland but only because he managed to trip him and sit on his chest. Then he could use his fingernails to extract one small drop of blood from Rolands cheeks.
This left Buffy and Georg when the door was locked. They were looking at each other from the opposite sides of the hall. Buffy had thought about this throughout the day waiting for their lessons. She would not kill the human but she could also not lose face in front of the others. Time to be a diplomat. "So, Georg! You are not a stupid man. We could beat each other to a pulp before the human gets here and diminish both our changes of living through this inauguration. It's not like we both need a lot of blood to survive until Friday. Why don't we share the human and both live to tell the tale." Buffy gave him her best sophisticated yet innocent look and it worked. Georg agreed even being a gentleman by offering her first taste. Internally Buffy laughed her head off. She could almost hear Giles tell her that dumb line about honey and vinegar. phwm, Men. She turned around sharply when the door at the far end of the hall swung open and a human man was pushed forward just before it closed again. His eyes were darting around looking scared and smelling like he had just shit his pants. Yep men, dumb and scaredy cats. She vamped out and grabbed the man before he could start to really cry and beg for his life. She knew she could not go through with it if he did. When she had taken a few good mouthfuls to quench the worst of her hunger and the man had gone unconscious, she passed him over to Georg and turned her back from the scene. She knew why she was doing this but it still felt like she had betrayed her calling. She had knowingly turned a human over to a vampire for feeding. Well the lines of survival are always grey. Right?? She asked her inner voice. It stayed remarkably quite.
The next day Othan never came. The vampires got a sense of how lonely forever could be just being alone with only one book for company. And all were beginning to feel the sting of blood thirst. Thursday evening they were hurdled together in the corridor. Talking about nothing just to hear a voice. Until Othan opened the door to the Hall and ushered them in. The desks had been pushed together to create a diner table. It was dressed with a beautiful linen tablecloth and candles as well as glasses, plates and cutlery.
"As Childer you may have to attend human and vampire social events. Etiquette is a very important part of that. Tonight we dine." Buffy and Lissane were having a ball eating imaginary food and having polite conversations with the men about the weather and the state of current foreign affairs. Reading the Jane Austin books for the last few days was really coming in handy for Buffy combined with her natural grace she pulled it off almost like she was borne a noble lady. Lissane and Roland of course were actually borne in England higher social circles. Roland was quite bored with the whole lesson. Mitch was trying with everything he had and pulled it off without looking a complete fool. He was a little clumsy though and his accent would give him away the moment he opened his mouth but as long as that didn't happen he could pass for a drunken young lordship. Georg and Jimmy were lost causes and they knew it. So they played around with Buffy and Lissane. They told them dirty jokes and pinched their bottoms. Leaving Buffy and Lissane giggling like school girls.
The pairings for the feeding battles were no surprise. Roland beat Mitch without much trouble. The men had laid out a pattern with the wooden beams. Some were stacked high and others were pulled haphazardly along the different heights. Lissane and Buffy ended up in the next semi finale. The object was very harmless. The first one to have any body part on the ground had forfeited the prize.
Buffy circled around Lissane for a few moments, noticing that she was lightheaded and not very steady on her feet. She launched herself through the air fists first. Lissane tried to maneuver out of the way but missed and took a hard blow to the shoulder. She stumbled around on the beams and with some luck found a good crossroad to get her bearings on.
If she doesn't eat soon, she will die of blood thirst. Buffy made a decision. She did not want to lose the friendship Lissane gave her. Besides she was extremely smart and could be a very good solicitor for the order. Lissane would be a powerful ally. If she was going to live.
Buffy launched again but this time at the end of the battlefield. She had announced this launch very clearly in her body language and Lissane could easily anticipate it. Then Buffy faked being off balance and she stumbled to the ground. "Newling" Othan bellowed with his low voice. " Why do you sabotage the match?"
Buffy tried to look innocent and defiant all in one. She knew she was caught and playing the dumb blond card would not get her anywhere. "If I so choose to forfeit the match, Mr. Othan, then I will do so." She looked arrogantly with her head held high and slightly tilted.
"No, Miss Buffy. You will no. If I so choose to whip you into fighting your best, I will though. This inauguration is meant to lose those Childer that cannot compete for their livelihood." The Buffster was not so easily diverted or disciplined. Ask Giles, Othan. He tried the whip thing. "But I'm doing my job. I'm protecting the vampires of my order. Lissane is a smart solicitor with the know-how to keep the order safe and well financed. If she dies because she can't beat me then I have failed to keep the entire order well. I mean hurely and burely here can't beat me but you expect her to kick my ass?" Buffy glanced at Lissane to see if she had insulted the other vampire but Lissane gave her a encouraging smile.
Othan looked menacing but the broke out into a loud and rumbling laughter. "I am going to enjoy seeing Charles deal with your pigheadedness." Buffy treated him to her most sassy smile. When she passed Lissane on her way out she quickly whispered her pointers on fighting Roland. "duck low and hit his belly or preferably his dick. Then go for the kneecaps. He keeps his right side unprotected." Lissane winked at her and then the door was locked behind her.
Friday morning Buffy was relieved her final day at the attic had started. She hadn't showered in four days and she started to smell. When Othan called them into the hall she thought she could see that she wasn't the only one relieved that Friday had finally come. All of them were looking slightly wrinkled and greasy. Lissane sported a big bruise at her collarbone but she looked a lot better with even a little color in her cheeks. Roland on the other hand still walked with his legs a few centimeters from each other and winched every time Lissane came close. He looked mightily pissed off.
"Today we play not only for food but also for honor. The clan of the winner will receive extra food and supplies. Also the winner will be honored at the inauguration. So far you all have made me proud. Non of you have died of the blood thirst and that is quite an accomplishment. Not unprecedented but well done non the less. The game is easy. Two goals, one ball, use only your feet where the ball is concerned but on each other anything goes." Roland quickly teamed up with Georg and Jimmy. That left Buffy with Mitch and Lissane. As far as she was concerned a fine choice. Then the trapdoor at the end of the hall opened and two bound humans were pushed in. Othan received them and put them opposite each other on the crudely fashioned pitch.
"They are the goals. Hit them and you win a point. Now play!"
The played and had fun. Buffy ignored the humans and just tried to kick the ball around to her teammates. Once in awhile Lissane or Mitch would get a really big wallop from either Georg or Jimmy but Buffy was fast enough to get the ball to the right place while that happened. She had more difficulty dealing with the very slimy tricks of Roland. The were ahead but only by a few points. After a heat of 45 minutes there was a small break. Everybody was slowly becoming very fatigued. Jimmy was looking paler than usual and Mitch start spinning on his feet if he stood in one place to long. The humans had calmed down after the first ten minutes of the match. They only winced when the ball hit them but thought that maybe this was going to be it.
After another heat Buffys team led by 3 points and they had the bruises to show they worked for it. Buffy knew she had busted Georges kneecap even though he wasn't showing it and she had hit Roland in his stomach. The team members had cheered each other on and laughed at the other team's faults.
"Alright, game's over! I have 2 topscorerers. Buffy and Roland. You get to fight over the humans. They are to be the extra food for the clan. The winner will be the overall winner of the inauguration." The hall was cleared and the other vampires stood around an arena built with the wooden beams. the humans were placed at two different corners and Buffy and Roland at two others. At Othans signal they started to circle each other.
Ah, the perfect opportunity to deal with my competition. Roland contemplated. He came at her with a series of blows to the head and upper chest. Buffy twirled out of his action radius and kick him at the small of his back. She smiled at him. "You know what just to make this fair, I'll only fight with my feet just like the game." Roland's lips withdrew to a fine line and his eyes bore in to her. "Don't hold back at my account, little girl" I'll kill you with a poisoned dart and keep my face unscarred for the banquette tonight. He pulled out a needle small and very fine but it's point had been dipped into a fast working poison designed to look like epilepsy. Buffy was surprised that Roland came at her with another set of blows and decided that she would show off a bit. Instead of turning away she ducked backwards and went for a summersault kick to his head. Her foot hit him square in the face but when she stood upright again she heard two bodies hit the ground. She turned and saw one of the humans lying on the ground convulsing and then becoming very still.
A silence started over the hall. Everybody looked at Othan to see what he would do. He jumped into the arena and examined the human body. Straightening he held the dart in his hands. He showed it to Buffy who understood that if she had danced away from Roland she would have been in his line of fire. Then when she was convuluging with seizures he would have easily snapped her head off of her neck. Without anybody noticing.
"Buffy wins this inauguration and the only human left alive for tonight's banquette." Othan announced and only Buffy heard the warning he whispered to Roland while he passed the vampire on the ground. "Your attempt will be reported to Charles."
The group of dirty worn out and extremely hungry vampires went to their rooms to gather their possessions. They met up again at the door they came through 5 days ago. Buffy looked back to the hall at the end of the corridor. She was leaving another place for good. A place where she had learned so many new things about her former prey. But she had also gained new friends and allies. She smiled at Lissane and nodded at Georg. Then Othan opened the three locks to reveal the 4 clan leaders standing behind the door. Buffy thought that she saw a sigh escape Charles when he laid eyes on her. She gave him her cocky grin, her eyes conveying an ' of course I survived, what did you expect'.
Othan spoke in the voice that she had heard when he had written their names in his book. "Leaders of the clans! I deem these Childer worthy of our order. Present them before the master at the inauguration tonight for his judgment." At that Charles motioned for her and Roland to follow him into the west wing. He showed Roland to a door and ushered him in telling him to be ready for the banquette in two hours. Then he lead Buffy down a flight of stairs to the first level of the west wing. Here there were only 2 doors. Charles pointed to the one on the left. "These are my personal quarters and these are yours." He said pointing to the opposite door. They entered a small living room furnished in yellows. With a writing desk and a sitting area in front of a fireplace. To her left was a door that led to the pink bedroom. A four poster bed of huge proportions , a set of clothing closets and a vanity area without a mirror. Another door lead to a bathroom with a bath on lions feet and a small toilet. When she had seen it all, she ran to Charles and threw her arms around him. "I missed you so much these past few days and now you give me these incredible rooms to live in and I am your only Child and I won the inauguration and....." She couldn't speak anymore. Charles smiled into her hair, glad she made it out, proud she had won but also knowing it wasn't over yet and maybe all of this was just the beginning. The masters current Childer could make life very difficult for her.
"You must tell me everything over diner tonight. For now you must get yourself as beautiful as possible because you still have to be inaugurated by the master and my Sire has a soft spot for beauty. I have requested a chamber maid for you, she should be here shortly. Her name is Jessy and I think you will get along with her. I will be back to pick you up for the banquette in two hours."
Jessy was indeed a nice girl. She was a fledgling in the housekeepers order and a little younger then herself. She swooned over Buffy. "You look so beautiful, Miss. You are so lucky to be the masters grandChild, Miss" Buffy tried to be kind to her but she was distracted. First by the gowns that she found in her closets. They were the ones she had purchased with Charles not so long ago. Then she got distracted with thoughts of what this banquette would mean and who would attend. When Charles came for her she was anxious, excited and scared out of her mind but she was also looking like a million bucks if she did thought so herself. She smelled of summer roses and looked amazingly pale in her soft blue dress with her hair done up to show off her bite mark. She gathered all of her self worth and decided to show them just what slayers were made off and if they were there she would ...... Well she hadn't figured that one out just yet.
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Inauguration
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He is here. I am here.
Buffy was having flashbacks The master behind her drinking from her neck
Buffy was frantically searching for calm and reason. Waking up from the darkness with the most horrid tithing around her lungs.
Buffy was hoping that non of the others were seeing her despair and she tried very hard to concentrate on what he was saying. Angel, after the darkness the first thing she saw was Angel.
"And so for the next five days I entrust you to the Dominus Proles knowing that he will take good care of you. I'm anxious to know how many of you will succeed." The Master concluded while his eyes lingered at Buffy. "Very anxious." The Master said while leaving the room. Buffy had felt a strange tugging somewhere in her gut. She wasn't sure because ever since that last flashback only one question filled her mind.
ARE THEY HERE?
Othan returned to the room and ordered them to follow him back up to the attic. When they all had past the solid wooden door at the end of the stairs he took his keychain and locked it at three points. "You will walk out of this door come next Saturday morning or you will be carried in a bag and for those of you who do not know, this is the size of the bag." Othan held up a small pouch the size of his hand. A young man about 17 years old, who she later found out was called Mitch, asked how that was possible. Othan looked around and asked for any volunteers to answer the question.
Before Buffy could open her mouth the only other woman in the group spoke. "Vampires can't die of human causes except for a wooden stake through the heart or decapitation. When that happens they desintegrate into dust." She said with the slightly arrogant tone that comes from knowing you are smarter than your company.
"Good, Lissane! You've earned 2 points for that answer." Othan told them. "Now, go to the end of the corridor and take out chairs I will be there shortly."
They entered a large room. The size of a small gym. One of the smaller walls was filled with books from the floor to the point of the reclining roof. Along the length of one of the longer walls were a series of mats and weaponry. Along the other were desks with chairs and long wooden beams. The floor was bare at the moment. At the other end of the attic there was a door with no handle on it.
When they were seated Buffy decided it was time to know with whom she was going to share the next five days. She went for the American approach. "Hi all, my name is Buffy Summers and who are you?"
The looks told her she had done something not of this century. They answered though, probably because the curiosity was getting to them too. The young girl went first. "I'm Miss Lissane deBurg, Nice to meet you Miss Buffy." Buffy smiled at her. She was a little arrogant but also very sweet. Strange combination.
"I'm Roland Adams" A man of somewhere in his thirties spoke in clipped tones. He was tall and had long hair that was bound in the nape of his neck like Charles wore it. He was muscled but not build. He scouted the room and gave off an air of cunningness. Buffy felt a natural reservation towards him.
"My name is George and this is Jimmy" One of two huge almost burly men said. They looked almost completely the same and came across as being not the brightest in the bunch.
Othan returned shortly after Mitch had introduced himself. "I will explain the proceedings after which you will go to your rooms to sleep until I call you again tomorrow evening. The next days you will be trained in the basic skills a Child must need. To make sure we have no weaklings in the Order. There will be only one Human a day for the only two of your number. Throughout the day you will be able to win points. There will be 2 rounds of battle between the highest four scores. The prize is the feeding. Unless you are in my sight you are in your room. Questions?"
There were no questions. "Good, now if anybody wants to take something from the library do it now or be bored until 19 hundred hours tomorrow." Buffy wasn't the kind of person to read books but sitting in her room staring at the ceiling was going to be even more boring. If I am going to be immortal I might as well read some books. At least now I don't have to worry about slayer shelve time and doing nothing for an eternity will be a bitch. She choose Pride and Prejudice. Cool a chick book that's actually literature. She only knew about the move because of the hot guy in it but had never had time to see it. Guess I had a thing for the English hotties even back then.
The next night they were called out of their rooms by Othan who was bellowing it from the end of the hall. Buffy had gotten dressed by herself in a pair of breeches and a loose fitting shirt which she tied around her middle with a smooth cord. When the newly borne entered the hall the tables were set up in a school like matter.
"Tonight I am going to teach you about the inner working of this order.
At the head of the order stands the master. He is one of the oldest vampire known to us. His mortal name is long since forgotten. We follow where he leads us. His Childer and their Childer command the clans. They are always to be obeyed. You as Childer of clan members are allowed to consort with them. Only one of you, if she survives, can ever be their equal. Charles is the leader of the warrior clan and the oldest living child of the master. He commands much respect." Othan looked pointedly at Buffy.
Wow, He's a big cahuna. That makes me a possible big cahuna. Buffy was wondering something and thought that maybe Othan would answer her. "Othan," She waited for his acknowledging nod. "How many Childer does Charles have?"
Othan was indeed in a good mood. "Well, little one. You are his first Child in 200 years. After he lost his favorite and only Child in the African wars. He has not sired a single vampire." Buffys stomach was warm with a feeling of being loved like she had felt those days alone with Charles. She missed the scowl that Roland gave her because of it.
"To continue, There are four clans. The housekeepers are lead by the keeper of the keys. They maintain all the houses of the order around the globe. Should you need a safe house, a turning house or a place to life, look for the sign of Aurelius. Every house of our order has one of these somewhere on their facade. If you make it through the inauguration you will be tattooed with it. Mitch is Charia's Child. She in turn is the masters greatgrandChild but from before Charles.
The solicitors take care of all the orders legal and financial affairs. They also set up and maintain fake legitimate persona for all that need it within the order. Lissane is Hollands first Child since he became the clan leader. He is not within the masters bloodline but promoted through cunning and skill.
The foodgathers make sure that the order can conduct its affairs without having to bother with a massive hunt. They also make sure that we are not to ostentatious in our feeding. Georg and Jimmy are the Childer of one of the officers from the clan. It is lead by Harold.
As I said the warrior clan is lead by Charles and it's purpose is to protect the clan from harm but they also search and destroy renegade vampires. Last of all they uphold the laws and decrees of the order throughout the world. The warriors can act as bodyguards for the key figures of the order. We've already established whose Child Buffy is. Roland is the Child of Theresa a formidable warrior indeed with quit the vicious reputation."
At that Roland perked up a bit. He wasn't the grandChild of the master but non the less a important figure in the warrior clan. Maybe he could get rid of the petite blond in the next few days and secure a position of power before he even entered the clan.
"Beneath the clans stand the fledglings they are assigned minor tasks within the clans. There are 5 orders of vampires in the world...." Buffy zoned out when Othan started telling them facts she already knew. Last night was spent dreaming of Spike and Angel or lying awake wondering if they were here. She was pissed at herself for never asking Spike about his turning, when and how. She knew that Angel was a vampire. He had been turned before the eighteenth century. What would Angelus think of her as a vampire? And how would how would her being Charles' Child effect that. They were equals now, weren't they? ".... So, now for earning your daily points. A quiz about the foreign and national vampire affairs." Bummer, Why do I always go all dreamy just before a test. Must be a slayer thing, yep! That's it.
The test was not as hard but only because Charles had already told her some of it. Without that it would have been a disaster. Othan took them and graded them. "The results are as followed. The first four will do battle for the human. At first place: Lissane, second place: Roland, third: Mitch and forth place: Georg." Buffy received two very different looks. Othan was looking at her with a mixture of curiosity and anger but Roland gave her a smirk to rival Spikes. Being the girl that she was she couldn't resist but stick out her tongue at him.
"The battle is relatively simple. The first one to hit the other is through to the feeding. First off: Lissane and Roland." The girl was no match for Roland. She successfully ducked his attacks a few times but he got her with a very humiliating smack on her bottom. "Go back to your books little girl or are you going to be of other good uses." He sneered.
Georg and Mitch took longer they circled each other. The smaller boy being light on his feet but the burly man had long arms to keep the boy at bay with. It was a constant folly of punches and ducks. Until Mitch found a small opening around Georges back and patted him on the back. At that Othan led the remaining four vampires out of the hall and locked the door.
"Sleep well. Tomorrow you have combat training." Othan told them, sending them to their rooms. Not long after that Buffy heard the familiar sound of a heart beat and blood circulation. All of that mixed with far away whimpers from a scared human being. But also the sounds of a fight going on between two vampires. After one particularly loud vampire scream came a particularly load human scream and all went quite.
The next evening was a blast. Buffy spent most of her day teaching Lissane and Mitch basic fighting moves but she also got to train with all of the nifty weapons. Othan also taught her a few new moves. One of which was using her vampire vision in the dark and the other was fighting with her fangs. A body part Buffy was not yet familiar with. It was a good thing she was thought because she was faced off against Jimmy in the feeding battle of the evening. The man was big and although she had not heard him say a single word as of yet, he was smart when it came to fighting. The object of the day was to draw blood from your opponent without using weapons. She beat Jimmy by faking a fall and then biting his ankles. Not before she had to take a few good blows to her midsection though. Georg beat Roland but only because he managed to trip him and sit on his chest. Then he could use his fingernails to extract one small drop of blood from Rolands cheeks.
This left Buffy and Georg when the door was locked. They were looking at each other from the opposite sides of the hall. Buffy had thought about this throughout the day waiting for their lessons. She would not kill the human but she could also not lose face in front of the others. Time to be a diplomat. "So, Georg! You are not a stupid man. We could beat each other to a pulp before the human gets here and diminish both our changes of living through this inauguration. It's not like we both need a lot of blood to survive until Friday. Why don't we share the human and both live to tell the tale." Buffy gave him her best sophisticated yet innocent look and it worked. Georg agreed even being a gentleman by offering her first taste. Internally Buffy laughed her head off. She could almost hear Giles tell her that dumb line about honey and vinegar. phwm, Men. She turned around sharply when the door at the far end of the hall swung open and a human man was pushed forward just before it closed again. His eyes were darting around looking scared and smelling like he had just shit his pants. Yep men, dumb and scaredy cats. She vamped out and grabbed the man before he could start to really cry and beg for his life. She knew she could not go through with it if he did. When she had taken a few good mouthfuls to quench the worst of her hunger and the man had gone unconscious, she passed him over to Georg and turned her back from the scene. She knew why she was doing this but it still felt like she had betrayed her calling. She had knowingly turned a human over to a vampire for feeding. Well the lines of survival are always grey. Right?? She asked her inner voice. It stayed remarkably quite.
The next day Othan never came. The vampires got a sense of how lonely forever could be just being alone with only one book for company. And all were beginning to feel the sting of blood thirst. Thursday evening they were hurdled together in the corridor. Talking about nothing just to hear a voice. Until Othan opened the door to the Hall and ushered them in. The desks had been pushed together to create a diner table. It was dressed with a beautiful linen tablecloth and candles as well as glasses, plates and cutlery.
"As Childer you may have to attend human and vampire social events. Etiquette is a very important part of that. Tonight we dine." Buffy and Lissane were having a ball eating imaginary food and having polite conversations with the men about the weather and the state of current foreign affairs. Reading the Jane Austin books for the last few days was really coming in handy for Buffy combined with her natural grace she pulled it off almost like she was borne a noble lady. Lissane and Roland of course were actually borne in England higher social circles. Roland was quite bored with the whole lesson. Mitch was trying with everything he had and pulled it off without looking a complete fool. He was a little clumsy though and his accent would give him away the moment he opened his mouth but as long as that didn't happen he could pass for a drunken young lordship. Georg and Jimmy were lost causes and they knew it. So they played around with Buffy and Lissane. They told them dirty jokes and pinched their bottoms. Leaving Buffy and Lissane giggling like school girls.
The pairings for the feeding battles were no surprise. Roland beat Mitch without much trouble. The men had laid out a pattern with the wooden beams. Some were stacked high and others were pulled haphazardly along the different heights. Lissane and Buffy ended up in the next semi finale. The object was very harmless. The first one to have any body part on the ground had forfeited the prize.
Buffy circled around Lissane for a few moments, noticing that she was lightheaded and not very steady on her feet. She launched herself through the air fists first. Lissane tried to maneuver out of the way but missed and took a hard blow to the shoulder. She stumbled around on the beams and with some luck found a good crossroad to get her bearings on.
If she doesn't eat soon, she will die of blood thirst. Buffy made a decision. She did not want to lose the friendship Lissane gave her. Besides she was extremely smart and could be a very good solicitor for the order. Lissane would be a powerful ally. If she was going to live.
Buffy launched again but this time at the end of the battlefield. She had announced this launch very clearly in her body language and Lissane could easily anticipate it. Then Buffy faked being off balance and she stumbled to the ground. "Newling" Othan bellowed with his low voice. " Why do you sabotage the match?"
Buffy tried to look innocent and defiant all in one. She knew she was caught and playing the dumb blond card would not get her anywhere. "If I so choose to forfeit the match, Mr. Othan, then I will do so." She looked arrogantly with her head held high and slightly tilted.
"No, Miss Buffy. You will no. If I so choose to whip you into fighting your best, I will though. This inauguration is meant to lose those Childer that cannot compete for their livelihood." The Buffster was not so easily diverted or disciplined. Ask Giles, Othan. He tried the whip thing. "But I'm doing my job. I'm protecting the vampires of my order. Lissane is a smart solicitor with the know-how to keep the order safe and well financed. If she dies because she can't beat me then I have failed to keep the entire order well. I mean hurely and burely here can't beat me but you expect her to kick my ass?" Buffy glanced at Lissane to see if she had insulted the other vampire but Lissane gave her a encouraging smile.
Othan looked menacing but the broke out into a loud and rumbling laughter. "I am going to enjoy seeing Charles deal with your pigheadedness." Buffy treated him to her most sassy smile. When she passed Lissane on her way out she quickly whispered her pointers on fighting Roland. "duck low and hit his belly or preferably his dick. Then go for the kneecaps. He keeps his right side unprotected." Lissane winked at her and then the door was locked behind her.
Friday morning Buffy was relieved her final day at the attic had started. She hadn't showered in four days and she started to smell. When Othan called them into the hall she thought she could see that she wasn't the only one relieved that Friday had finally come. All of them were looking slightly wrinkled and greasy. Lissane sported a big bruise at her collarbone but she looked a lot better with even a little color in her cheeks. Roland on the other hand still walked with his legs a few centimeters from each other and winched every time Lissane came close. He looked mightily pissed off.
"Today we play not only for food but also for honor. The clan of the winner will receive extra food and supplies. Also the winner will be honored at the inauguration. So far you all have made me proud. Non of you have died of the blood thirst and that is quite an accomplishment. Not unprecedented but well done non the less. The game is easy. Two goals, one ball, use only your feet where the ball is concerned but on each other anything goes." Roland quickly teamed up with Georg and Jimmy. That left Buffy with Mitch and Lissane. As far as she was concerned a fine choice. Then the trapdoor at the end of the hall opened and two bound humans were pushed in. Othan received them and put them opposite each other on the crudely fashioned pitch.
"They are the goals. Hit them and you win a point. Now play!"
The played and had fun. Buffy ignored the humans and just tried to kick the ball around to her teammates. Once in awhile Lissane or Mitch would get a really big wallop from either Georg or Jimmy but Buffy was fast enough to get the ball to the right place while that happened. She had more difficulty dealing with the very slimy tricks of Roland. The were ahead but only by a few points. After a heat of 45 minutes there was a small break. Everybody was slowly becoming very fatigued. Jimmy was looking paler than usual and Mitch start spinning on his feet if he stood in one place to long. The humans had calmed down after the first ten minutes of the match. They only winced when the ball hit them but thought that maybe this was going to be it.
After another heat Buffys team led by 3 points and they had the bruises to show they worked for it. Buffy knew she had busted Georges kneecap even though he wasn't showing it and she had hit Roland in his stomach. The team members had cheered each other on and laughed at the other team's faults.
"Alright, game's over! I have 2 topscorerers. Buffy and Roland. You get to fight over the humans. They are to be the extra food for the clan. The winner will be the overall winner of the inauguration." The hall was cleared and the other vampires stood around an arena built with the wooden beams. the humans were placed at two different corners and Buffy and Roland at two others. At Othans signal they started to circle each other.
Ah, the perfect opportunity to deal with my competition. Roland contemplated. He came at her with a series of blows to the head and upper chest. Buffy twirled out of his action radius and kick him at the small of his back. She smiled at him. "You know what just to make this fair, I'll only fight with my feet just like the game." Roland's lips withdrew to a fine line and his eyes bore in to her. "Don't hold back at my account, little girl" I'll kill you with a poisoned dart and keep my face unscarred for the banquette tonight. He pulled out a needle small and very fine but it's point had been dipped into a fast working poison designed to look like epilepsy. Buffy was surprised that Roland came at her with another set of blows and decided that she would show off a bit. Instead of turning away she ducked backwards and went for a summersault kick to his head. Her foot hit him square in the face but when she stood upright again she heard two bodies hit the ground. She turned and saw one of the humans lying on the ground convulsing and then becoming very still.
A silence started over the hall. Everybody looked at Othan to see what he would do. He jumped into the arena and examined the human body. Straightening he held the dart in his hands. He showed it to Buffy who understood that if she had danced away from Roland she would have been in his line of fire. Then when she was convuluging with seizures he would have easily snapped her head off of her neck. Without anybody noticing.
"Buffy wins this inauguration and the only human left alive for tonight's banquette." Othan announced and only Buffy heard the warning he whispered to Roland while he passed the vampire on the ground. "Your attempt will be reported to Charles."
The group of dirty worn out and extremely hungry vampires went to their rooms to gather their possessions. They met up again at the door they came through 5 days ago. Buffy looked back to the hall at the end of the corridor. She was leaving another place for good. A place where she had learned so many new things about her former prey. But she had also gained new friends and allies. She smiled at Lissane and nodded at Georg. Then Othan opened the three locks to reveal the 4 clan leaders standing behind the door. Buffy thought that she saw a sigh escape Charles when he laid eyes on her. She gave him her cocky grin, her eyes conveying an ' of course I survived, what did you expect'.
Othan spoke in the voice that she had heard when he had written their names in his book. "Leaders of the clans! I deem these Childer worthy of our order. Present them before the master at the inauguration tonight for his judgment." At that Charles motioned for her and Roland to follow him into the west wing. He showed Roland to a door and ushered him in telling him to be ready for the banquette in two hours. Then he lead Buffy down a flight of stairs to the first level of the west wing. Here there were only 2 doors. Charles pointed to the one on the left. "These are my personal quarters and these are yours." He said pointing to the opposite door. They entered a small living room furnished in yellows. With a writing desk and a sitting area in front of a fireplace. To her left was a door that led to the pink bedroom. A four poster bed of huge proportions , a set of clothing closets and a vanity area without a mirror. Another door lead to a bathroom with a bath on lions feet and a small toilet. When she had seen it all, she ran to Charles and threw her arms around him. "I missed you so much these past few days and now you give me these incredible rooms to live in and I am your only Child and I won the inauguration and....." She couldn't speak anymore. Charles smiled into her hair, glad she made it out, proud she had won but also knowing it wasn't over yet and maybe all of this was just the beginning. The masters current Childer could make life very difficult for her.
"You must tell me everything over diner tonight. For now you must get yourself as beautiful as possible because you still have to be inaugurated by the master and my Sire has a soft spot for beauty. I have requested a chamber maid for you, she should be here shortly. Her name is Jessy and I think you will get along with her. I will be back to pick you up for the banquette in two hours."
Jessy was indeed a nice girl. She was a fledgling in the housekeepers order and a little younger then herself. She swooned over Buffy. "You look so beautiful, Miss. You are so lucky to be the masters grandChild, Miss" Buffy tried to be kind to her but she was distracted. First by the gowns that she found in her closets. They were the ones she had purchased with Charles not so long ago. Then she got distracted with thoughts of what this banquette would mean and who would attend. When Charles came for her she was anxious, excited and scared out of her mind but she was also looking like a million bucks if she did thought so herself. She smelled of summer roses and looked amazingly pale in her soft blue dress with her hair done up to show off her bite mark. She gathered all of her self worth and decided to show them just what slayers were made off and if they were there she would ...... Well she hadn't figured that one out just yet.
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